Making it Work
by Maydrei
Summary: Sequel to "Bound to Love." Now that Gaara has been sent back to Suna, he and Sakura have been seperated for months. When Sakura gets a chance to visit, will Gaara still want her? Will Sakura still have feelings for him? Or is their relationship over?
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER ONE

**Hey! It's been a while, but as I promised, the sequel to 'Bound to Love?' is finally out. Hope your summer is going well…I've basically just been blobbing around, then realized I completely forgot that I promised a sequel (sorry about that). But here it is!**

**(If any of you are reading this before you've checked out 'Bound to Love', the fact this is a sequel shouldn't be too much of a problem, I'm not planning on making many references to it. But I still encourage you to read it to see how Sakura and Gaara's relationship developed.)**

--

Sakura drummed her fingers against the armrest on her chair. She had been waiting in the Hokage's office for well over half an hour, and still Tsunade was nowhere to be seen. Letting out a deep breath, Sakura told herself sternly that the Hokage had many duties…

To keep from getting angry, she let her mind wander. Had she remembered to take out the trash this morning? A rumble in her stomach told her she had skipped breakfast, and she frowned. Maybe after her talk with the Hokage she could go get some food…yeah, that sounded good. Duly she thought back to when she would always make a big, home cooked breakfast every morning, and her stomach grumbled even louder. Then again, she figured that spending all that time cooking for just one person was silly, now that Gaara had…

Sakura sighed. Thinking about Gaara wasn't exactly the best thing for her mood. He had left for Suna three months ago. Three months! And she hadn't heard a peep from him.

Sakura rolled her eyes. It wasn't as if she had been expecting him to write her long love letters filled with romantic vows (come on, this was Gaara we're about, Sakura reminded herself), but still. She…

Sakura shook her head and forcefully stopped thinking about that. Wallowing in self pity wasn't on her to do list.

Glancing at the clock, she saw that she had been here for forty-five minutes, and her patience was spent. She had better things to do than wait around here mulling over stupid things. Standing up, Sakura turned to the door—just as it opened.

Tsunade walked in, being scolded by Shizune. When they saw Sakura, they both stopped. "Oh, you're here already?" Tsunade asked.

Sakura bit back a remark and nodded, waiting for Tsunade to walk around and sit at her desk before she sat down. Shizune took her position by the side. "What is it that you wanted me for?"

"I wanted you to know that I will be leaving tomorrow."

"Oh?" Sakura wasn't too excited. Usually that meant that Shizune was going along with her, which left most of the paperwork Tsunade left behind to Sakura. "Alright then." She noticed Shizune give a small smile before she turned away. Confused, she glanced at Tsunade, who was looking at her with a smirk. "What…what is it?"

"Aren't you curious about where I'm going to?"

Sakura blinked, and then an idea clicked into her head. Trying not to sound too hopeful, she asked, "Not…not to Suna?"

Tsunade grinned at her and nodded. "Yup."

Sakura hesitated, then grabbed a pen from the Hokage's desk, along with a sheet of paper. "Could you give Gaara this letter for me?" she asked, trying to figure out what she was going to write. She got as far as '_Gaara'_, deciding to forsake the 'dear,' when she got stuck. What exactly was she gong to write? What did she _want _to write?

Tsunade gave her a look. "Sakura—"

"It's just a letter!" Sakura protested, tapping the pen against her armrest. What could she write without feeling like an idiot? She wasn't good at expressing her feelings in words in the first place, but knowing that Gaara was going to read it only made it worse.

"Sakura, you're coming with me," Tsunade stated.

Sakura's head jerked up, the pen freezing in her hand. "What?" she asked stupidly.

"You're coming with me," she repeated.

"You mean it?" Sakura asked.

"Of course. I can tell how much you miss him, and I thought it would be a nice break for you."

Sakura took a few moments to process this. She was going to see Gaara. Excitement started to bubble up in her, and she smiled, knowing that she must look foolish. But what did that matter? She was going to see him!

"We're going to leave early in the morning, and I plan to stay for about a week. Well?" Tsunade asked. "What are you waiting for? Go pack!"

"Yes ma'am!" Sakura jumped to her feet and rushed out.

Once Sakura had shut the door behind her, Shizune smiled. "It's nice of you to invite her along."

Tsunade smiled. "I can tell she misses him. And just the other day I got a letter from Temari, Gaara's sister. Do you remember her?"

"Uh-huh. What did the letter say?"

"Well, there were two. The first one was formal, asking that I, the Hokage, come over to Suna for a visit and have a meeting with their kage to help strengthen our alliance…along with some other boring stuff. The other one was just a plain letter from Temari. She said she hoped that we would bring along Sakura, saying that she hoped it would help her brother's mood. From what she wrote, it seems as if he's been a little grumpy lately, and she thinks that it's because he hasn't been able to see Sakura."

Shizune covered a giggle with her hands. "He's grumpy because he can't see her? He sounds like a lovesick teenager."

Tsunade couldn't help but smile. "Aw, it wasn't too long since you were that young. Don't you remember feeling the same way? And besides, Gaara's not the only one who's been moody, you can see Sakura's been getting depressed."

"I dunno if depressed is the right word, she seems more aggravated than anything. Then again, she's always like that…"

Tsunade grinned again. "You're right." She shuffled some papers together and tapped them against her desk. "If all goes well, think about what might happen in the long run? Should Gaara's and Sakura's relationship go well, it can only help the alliance."

"They'll be a force to be reckoned with, that's for sure," Shizune added.

--

The rest of the day was a blur for Sakura. She didn't remember dashing home or throwing her clothes in a bag. She didn't remember running around the village saying goodbye to everyone, and by the time Sakura had gotten back home, it was dark. Plopping down on her bed next to her bag, she wondered where the day had gone.

A meow and a sudden thump announced the appearance of her newly acquired cat, Kit. Sakura smiled at the short-furred cat and rubbed its head, earning a rumbling purr from her.

When Sakura's next door neighbor in the apartment had moved out of the village, the woman couldn't take the cat with her, and Sakura had offered to find it a new home for it. The following weeks had been so busy with missions that Sakura didn't have time to do that, and she had just gotten used to its presence, and didn't have the heart to give it away. Since she hadn't been expected to keep it, she had just called it Kit whenever it was around, refusing to use the name its owner had given her (it was Dexter. Who names a girl cat Dexter?), and by the time she realized it wasn't going anywhere, the name had stuck.

"Guess what, Kit? I'm going to be gone for the next few weeks, so asked my friend Ino to look after you."

The cat flicked its tail, pushing its head against Sakura. She smiled, she knew that Kit didn't care too much for her friend. "It won't be that bad. Ino promised to be nice."

Her cat meowed in response, and Sakura caught herself from rolling her eyes. Lately she had been worried about her habit of talking to her cat like it could understand her—that had to be a sign she was losing her mind, right?

Deciding to ignore that for the moment, Sakura took a quick shower and changed into pajamas, then hopped under the covers of her bed. She felt really silly about it, but all she could think about was that she was going to see Gaara soon. Pondering over this, she fell asleep.

--

Sakura woke up the next morning with a lovely smell of the cat's putrid breath huffing in her face. Scrunching her face in disgust, she pushed herself up, deciding that when she got back she would stop feeding Kit the fish-brand of cat food.

"Come on, you're not supposed to be on the bed," she said, nudging the cat. It grumbled and just curled up into a ball. Annoyed, Sakura picked it up and deposited it on the floor, making it meow in protest. "Oh, be quiet. You know you're not supposed to be on the furniture."

As the day's agenda wafted into her head, Sakura couldn't help but smile. She glanced at the clock, grabbed her bag, and headed for the gate. On her way there she grabbed a bagel, and was still munching on it when she saw Tsunade and Shizune waiting for her.

"You got everything you need?" Tsunade asked. Sakura nodded. "Alright, then let's go."

As they set out, Shizune fell in step with Sakura. "You excited to see your lover boy?" she asked with a teasing smirk.

Sakura blushed and glared at her. "He's not my 'lover boy.'" When Shizune kept watching her expectantly, Sakura rolled her eyes. "And yeah, I'm excited," she admitted, blushing even more.

--

**After months of not writing anything, I fell like I'm out of shape. I'm not sure if I captured Sakura's personalitly the way it was in BTL (…that sounds like a Burger King item…sigh), and sorry if you felt the same way. I'm afraid that they won't be the same as they were before…but part of that is due to the time Sakura and Gaara have spent apart, I guess. As always, please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

In this chapter…and probably the rest of the story, Suna is going to part of the plot

**In this chapter…and probably the rest of the story, Suna is going to part of the plot. Things in this story probably won't match up to the anime/manga, because I haven't gotten that far in the series to know what happens. The same goes for Gaara's role and other things that you might expect to see. (Yes, he is the Kazekage, just so you know. But things concerning his position might be a little off, just so you know.)**

--

"Sakura, could you hold these for me?" Shizune asked, and passed her an armful of logs. "Bring those back to the campfire, I'm going to see if I can find more dry ones." Sakura nodded and hurried back. It had been raining on and off for three days, so travel hadn't been much fun. The three women were all soaked to the bone, and hopefully they could build a fire and dry off as much as they could before it started to rain again.

Tsunade looked up when she walked out of the trees and smiled gratefully at the new supply of wood, then went back to trying to start a fire from a small pile of brush. It started to smoke, then the fire appeared. Sakura carefully put down a log for it to eat up and set the others a safe distance away.

She straightened and looked up at the sky. It was dangerously cloudy. "You don't think it will start to rain again soon, do you?"

Tsunade glanced up. "I don't know, but we better hurry up and dry out our things."

The two quickly clipped wet clothes to a rope hanging over the fire, and then set a tripod under them. "Three days without a warm meal, my stomach is rumbling already," Shizune said, walking out of the trees and dropping the logs.

"You're not the only one," Tsunade grumbled.

Sakura just smiled. She was just happy that it wasn't raining anymore. Shuffling over to the log pile, she pulled one out one of them and sat down, plopping her head in her hands. She let her mind wander as the food cooked. She hoped that her sleeping bag had managed to stay dry, she didn't have a water-proof pack. Dully she made a mental note to buy one when she got back—or maybe she could get one in Suna? Would they even have water-proof material? It was in the desert, so there wasn't much rain…

Sakura wondered what it would be like in Suna. "Tsunade? Have you ever been to Suna?"

"Hmm?" Tsunade looked up. "Yes, plenty of times. Why, worried?"

Sakura shrugged. "I don't really know. It'll be…different."

"Different can be good."

"…I hope so."

--

Miraculously, it didn't rain again, even though the sky didn't clear. Happily dressed in dry clothes, they pitched their tent and climbed inside. The next morning they ate quickly and set out again.

The trip went by quickly. Sakura didn't bother to count the days, and soon enough they were tromping over dunes. Instead of worrying about rain, Sakura was now grumbling at the sand in her shoes, futilely shaking them out every few steps. She didn't bother to try to understand how the women in front of her were walking in _high heels through the sand_ without any trouble (she promised herself to ask after she had a nice shower). And boy did she want a shower. She kept sweating because of the heat, which wasn't exactly unbearable, but still pretty gross, and she had tumbled down a sand dune early that morning (needless to say, it hadn't helped her mood, and wasn't happy when Tsunade kept reenacting it), and now had sand just about everywhere.

"Sakura," Shizune called. She looked up. "How's that for a view of Suna?"

Sakura looked past her and laid eyes on Gaara's village for the first time. It surprised her. She had seen a few pictures of it, but it didn't look anything like those pictures. There was a big, strong-looking wall surrounding a large, sprawling village of well-build buildings, some of them surprisingly large.

"Ah…" she turned to her mentor. "Tsunade—"

She turned and looked at her with a smile. "Let me guess, you were imaging those pictures you saw in your textbooks? Those were taken years ago—Suna has changed a lot, thanks to their Kazekage." She threw a sideways glance at her.

Sakura blinked. In the back of her mind she knew that Gaara was the Kazekage, but that thought had never crossed her mind when she and Gaara were…together. Thinking of it now made her feel strange. It was too hard to try to imagine him behind a desk, signing off papers like Tsunade did.

Sakura frowned, realizing she knew practically nothing about Gaara. That irked her.

"What's wrong? You're making a face."

"Huh?" Sakura snapped out of her little world and looked at Shizune. "Was I?"

"Yeah…what were you thinking?"

Too embarrassed to tell the truth, she quickly said, "Just imagining how angry I'd be if our inn didn't have a nice hot spring."

They started walking toward the gates, Sakura half-stumbling down it. Jeez, how on earth were the other two not falling over?

"Actually, because of all the sandstorms, they have to have them inside."

"An indoor hot spring?" Sakura questioned.

"Yeah. But we'll be staying in the ambassador suite they have in the…Shizune, what's the name for the place where they work? Like their Hokage Tower?"

"Huh," she said, frowning. "I can't remember."

"Oh well. But it'll be nice. The suite is very comfortable. Before we get there though we'll announce ourselves to the Suna council."

They were let through the gates with respectful bows, and an escort seemingly appeared out of nowhere, offering to lead them to the council.

"No thank you, I know the way—" Tsunade began.

"Toru?" Sakura asked.

The man looked at her. "Sakura? Wow! It's been a while!"

Sakura smiled. "You can say that again. How is Hatsumi? Did her arm heal properly?"

A little blush rose in his face. "She's fine," he said quickly.

Before Sakura had the chance to start teasing him, Tsunade cleared her throat loudly. Both Sakura and Toru winced and turned her, afraid they were about to be scolded. Tsunade rose her eyebrows.

"I met him on the mission with Kakashi and Anko, back when Gaara and I were bound together. He helped Gaara get back on his feet when I was helping the other patients," Sakura explained.

"Huh…" was all she said. After an awkward pause, Sakura kicked the dirt at her feet and said, "So…to the council?"

"Yes, let's go."

Tsunade and Toru leading the way, they trekked across the village, Sakura staring all the way. There were many people out on the streets, and Sakura noted they all, for the most part, looked happy, busy, and healthy. They passed a daycare for civilian children and Sakura smiled as she saw kids running around and playing with each other, laughing and screaming in excitement. It reminded her of home. Suna wasn't so different after all.

"Here we are," Toru chimed. They were standing in front of an important looking building with several levels, all with large windows. Toru held the door open for them and smiled encouragingly at Sakura as she followed Shizune and Tsunade inside.

In front of them stood a large desk, a woman standing behind it. Once she recognized Tsunade, she quickly jumped to her feet. "Lady Hokage! You're early, we weren't expecting you to be here for a few more days. The Kazekage and council are in a meeting right now, they should be finishing soon though."

"Then they won't mind if we interrupt," Tsunade said, impatient to announce herself so she could take a nice, hot shower and rest her feet.

"Uh—" the secretary began, but Tsunade was already walking off. Hurriedly Shizune and Sakura followed her, sending apologetic smiles to the woman. Tsunade led them up a set of stairs, and suddenly, out of nowhere, Sakura began to panic.

What was she thinking? She hadn't seen Gaara for three months, and now she was going to interrupt him during an important meeting? He wouldn't be happy, and she didn't even know if he still cared for her. What if all this time apart had made Gaara forget about her? What if he didn't like her anymore? What if he had found someone else? The thought made Sakura's heart ache, and she bit her lip. What would she say? 'Hi Gaara, how are you? I was wondering if we still have that awkward relationship thing we had three months ago, or do you have a mistress? Is she nice?' Why hadn't she thought about this earlier?

Realizing she was panicking, Sakura tried to calm herself down.

But then she noticed Tsunade was opening a door, and then the three of them were standing in front of the Suna council, Gaara at the head of the table, and every single person in the room was staring at them.

**--**

**Not a lot happened in this chapter, it's so short…sorry about that. I was planning on having more, but the more I thought about it, the more I figured it should be in a separate chapter, especially considering how I was worried that I was taking too long updating. I hope you enjoy this!**

**(Oh, by the way. One of my fans just recently told me that someone has been posting my 'bound to love' story on a German website, without giving me any credit. I was hoping you guys could give me a little advice about what to do in this situation, since I don't think it's that bad, but it IS my story. I'm not angry about it, but your opinions would help, thanks) **


	3. Chapter 3

All you guys complained about the cliffhanger, which I didn't notice until you guys mentioned it

**All you guys complained about the cliffhanger, which I didn't notice until you guys mentioned it. Sorry about that. Anyway, let's begin!**

**--**

Gaara stared at Sakura, stunned. What was she doing here? One second he was listening to his foolish advisors arguing, and then she had appeared, accompanied by the Hokage and that Shizune woman. It had been months since he had last seen her, and now without any warning she was standing right in front of him, looking nervous and tense, staring back at him. He blinked, but she was still standing by the door. Could she really be here?

"Kazekage-sama, hello!" And with that, Tsunade broke the spell between the two, and Gaara tore his attention away from Sakura to glance at the older woman. "I'm sorry we came on such short notice, your secretary said that we were early?"

"Y-yes," Gaara stumbled, and turned his full gaze on her, going into kage mode. "Your room has been prepared, though."

Sakura swallowed hard, her mouth dry. When they had entered the room, everyone inside had gone completely silent, and now they began to talk quietly amongst themselves, but they were still looking at her and her companions.

That little staring session she had shared with Gaara hadn't calmed her down in the least, his face was as emotionless as always, he had merely looked surprised. Not pleased, not happy, not excited…not annoyed, but still. She had hoped for a little…something. Oh, what she would do to see him smile at her, if only to calm her down.

Seeing Gaara smoothly greet Tsunade, Sakura looked away, trying to avoid the gazes of the men in the room—but then a spark of yellow caught her eye. Looking again, she saw Temari sitting next to Gaara, and she was smiling at her. Sakura smiled back, relieved to see at least someone was happy to see her.

Tsunade began to walk across the room, and Shizune bumped her arm, signaling her to follow along. So she and Shizune hurried up to the head of the table and waited as Gaara stood and shook hands with Tsunade, sharing formal 'How do you do's' and 'I hope you've been well's'. Then Shizune stepped up and bowed to Gaara and wished him well, and with a terrifying shock Sakura realized she was supposed to do something too. Nervously she stepped up, made eye contact for the quickest of moments, then bowed, hiding from his stare. Had it always been so intimidating?

When she straightened, Sakura murmured, "I hope you've been well…Kazekage-sama." Meeting his eyes once more, Sakura couldn't figure out what was behind them and looked away again.

Gaara stared at her, frowning imperceptibly. What the hell was that? 'Kazekage-sama?' Why was she acting so formal?

Tsunade, not noticing, turned to Gaara once more. "We'll talk later about our business, once we've settled in." She nodded to the council, then began to walk out. Shizune followed her, but Sakura hesitated, glancing back at Gaara.

"Sakura," he began, but then one of the men at the table said, "Kazekage, about the issue we were talking about earlier?" Gaara glanced at him, and Sakura ducked her head and hurried out. Hiding a scowl, he beckoned to Temari.

--

Sakura let out a relieved sigh when she exited the council room, and she hurried to catch up to her companions. Why had that been so painfully awkward? Doubtless Gaara had picked up on that—ugh. "I'm such an idiot," she muttered.

"No you're not," Temari said, practically scaring Sakura out of her shoes.

"Jeez! Why'd you sneak up on me? Don't you have to be in the meeting?" Sakura asked, hand over her heart. How come she hadn't sensed her? _I think too much, _Sakura grumbled.

"Gaara sent me to talk to you," she said, making Sakura's ears perk.

"Oh?" Sakura asked, both nervous and worried.

Temari frowned at her. "Sakura, what is it? You hardly seem like the same girl who made me French toast all those months ago." Sakura had to smile at that. ":Are you unhappy that I asked you to come?"

Sakura hesitated, then shook her head. "No, it isn't that. It's just…I'm worried that Gaara might feel…differently," she said lamely.

"You mean that he doesn't like you anymore?" Temari snorted. "Don't worry about that. All this time apart from you Gaara's gotten snippy. He's missed you."

Sakura bit her lip. "Really?"

"Yup." Temari smiled at Sakura. By now they had caught up to Tsunade and Shizune. "He even asked that instead of staying in the ambassador suite, he wants you to come to our house."

"What?" Sakura cried, beginning to panic again. "Why?"

"What do you mean why? He wants to talk to you."

"But, I mean, I haven't showered yet, and I don't know where you live or how to get there, and I don't know what I'm supposed to say—"

"Sakura, calm down," Temari ordered, hiding a smile at her slight panic. Good, she still cared about Gaara. "It's not like you're going to refuse…?"

"Of course not," she said quickly.

"Then that settles it. Miss Tsunade," Temari called, making the Hokage turn, "Gaara has asked that Sakura stay at our house for the night."

Tsunade smiled, and so did Shizune. "I don't mind. Have fun," she told Sakura, and disappeared around the corner.

Feeling quite abandoned, Sakura turned to Temari. "I'm going to show you around, and then I'll bring you to our house so you clean up and get ready to bed." Temari had decided that she was going to do her best to try to make Sakura as at home as possible. She was the one who had asked her to come in the first place, and Sakura was important to her brother, and she wanted to see him happy. Not only that, but Sakura was a good person, and it was never a bad idea to make friends with of strong people. If she stayed around, she could really benefit Suna.

Now, Temari frowned, all she had to do was sit back and hope their relationship wasn't over before it had a chance to get off the ground.

--

Sakura actually enjoyed the little tour Temari gave her around Suna. She showed her where the best restaurants were, the best clothes stores (not that Sakura thought she would have time to be shopping) the hospital, which Sakura had much interest about, and where the training grounds were and their academy.

All the excitement started to fade, though, when Temari led her to the Subaku household. It was modestly sized, with two levels. Temari led her inside and showed her the kitchen, living room, and pointed out Kankuro's room and the bathroom. Upstairs she showed her where the upper bathroom was, Gaara's room, her own room, and opened the door to the spare room so Sakura could plop her pack down on the bed. She glanced out the window and started. "What time is it?" she asked Temari.

"About seven. What, didn't notice the time fly?"

Actually, Sakura hadn't. She glanced around for a clock and saw that Temari was right.

"I'll leave you alone so you can take a shower. If you're hungry, just grab yourself a snack from the kitchen." Temari smiled at her and started to leave.

"Wait!" Sakura called, half just because she didn't want to be left alone in this new setting. She blushed, and asked quickly, "What time do you think Gaara will be getting home?"

Temari hid a smile, happy that Sakura had asked. But then she thought about the answer and it wiped the smile off her face. "He has a lot of work to do today…so I'm not sure. To be honest, he hasn't been sleeping much or coming home, so when he does get tired he usually just sleeps in his office." Sakura's face fell a bit, and Temari quickly added, "But I'm sure that'll change now that you're in his life again, he'll probably want to see you."

An awkward silence stretched between them, and Sakura finally said, "Well, I should probably wash up now."

"Yeah…I'll be in my room if you need anything."

Sakura walked into the bathroom, wondering why on earth she couldn't act normal. Well, okay, this was a little weird, being in Gaara's home and all, without Gaara even there. She glanced around and was surprised to see a large basket on the counter cluttered with makeup and perfumes, she had never seen Temari with makeup on. There was a nice mirror over the sink too. Sakura stood in front of it and examined her reflection. She actually didn't look that bad for having traveled across the desert and such, but she'd still prefer a nice long wash.

She almost laughed when she turned to grab a towel—they were the big puffy, fluffy ones, and she couldn't resist running her hands over one. On a hunch, she glanced into the shower-tub and saw that it was cluttered with shampoos, conditioners, and lotions. Sakura couldn't hold back the laugh this time. Apparently Temari had just taken over this entire bathroom, unless Gaara was the type to enjoy long lavender and vanilla bubble baths while conditioning his hair with pricey products. The thought made Sakura laugh even harder, and it cheered her up. Feeling much better, Sakura put her clothes in the hamper and climbed into the shower, careful not to knock over any of the bottles.

The water was nice and calming, and Sakura sighed happily—a shower always made her feel better. She tried to decide what kind of product she wanted to use, but couldn't, so she simply closed her eyes and randomly grabbed one. Popping the cap, Sakura sniffed it and was pretty pleased to find she had picked a good one.

A few minuets later, Sakura felt like she was in heaven, surrounded by the most wonderful scents and feeling absolutely beautiful after playing around with the conditioners and body wash. She washed off all the suds and slicked back her hair, turning off the water. Completely content, Sakura grabbed a towel and went back to her room to change.

Temari must have put some kind of sedative in some of those bottles, because Sakura felt like she was walking on Cloud Nine. It had helped her outlook on this whole little episode. She had finally been able to see Gaara, and though they didn't get a chance to talk, so what? There was plenty of time for that. Even if he didn't get home tonight, she could just try to talk to him tomorrow…over a nice big breakfast she would make (after having another shower).

Rubbing the towel through her hair, Sakura practically floated downstairs to see Temari lounging on a couch, eating a granola bar. "Hey," Temari said, and tossed her another bar. Sakura plopped down next to her and leaned back.

"God, Temari, you have to tell me what you have in that shower of yours."

She smiled. "It's feels awesome, doesn't it? Gaara complains about it being too cluttered, but I need that time to relax. Some women need chocolate, and I need my shampoo collection."

"You know, you never stuck me as a girl who was obsessed with such girly things."

"What, you saw my makeup collection?" Temari laughed. "You'd be surprised. Usually I don't feel like going out, but when I do…"

They chatted for a while, and Sakura was surprised that she felt at complete ease talking to Gaara's sister like they were long time friends. It was nice. As they talked, Sakura started to feel sleepy, and not wanting to fall asleep on the couch, she told Temari good night and climbed the stairs to her room.

--

**Again, nothing much happened in this chapter either even though its long (how is that possible? Ugh, I'm just bad at progressing the plot), but for some reason I wanted to write this. I know I practically had Sakura drugged through the last part, but I thought it was funny, and I wanted to show that she had calmed down. And what better than a nice, long shower full of bubbles to help with that?**

**Eh, a lot of fanfics I've read have had Sakura and Temari nice and chummy friends, and I usually didn't like that and at first decided not to do that, but oh well. It's nice, and Sakura needs someone to lean on in big scary Suna. I don't think I did Temari's character justice, though, I hadn't really thought about her personality when I started to write. Anyway…hope you liked it.**


	4. Chapter 4

Ah, fourth chapter

**Ah, fourth chapter. In this I added some characters of my own…I don't really plan to use them, but they might come in handy. This chapter is longer than what I usually do, but somehow less seems to happen in it! I don't know how that happened…oh well.**

**I was going over Bound to Love the other day, and it really irked me how many errors there were from grammar and spelling…I tried hard to catch any in here, and I think I'm going to go back to BTL to fix them…**

--

Sakura closed the door behind her and looked around the room. She hadn't really paid much attention the first time she was in here, but as she looked closer, she saw there wasn't much to grab her interest. Just the simple necessities—a bed, small dresser, tiny nightstand, and a simple table in the corner. Not that Sakura minded, she didn't need all the clutter she had at her apartment back at the Hidden Leaf Village.

The bed was surprisingly comfy when she slipped into it. As she snuggled down into the sheets, she realized they were a little stale, but just ignored it as she closed her eyes. Still feeling calm and happy from her long shower, it didn't take long for her to fall asleep.

--

"Mhmm," Gaara mumbled, not really listening to what his advisor was saying. The old man didn't seem to notice and moved on to the next report, giving Gaara the important details as he skimmed it.

"Now, I had Tatsuya-san look over these papers, and she…" he stopped when Gaara frowned and looked up at him. "What is it?"

"Who's Tatsuya?"

"Your secretary," his advisor, Izumi, said. When no recognition reached Gaara's face, he went on. "Kimi Tatsuya."

"Never heard of her," Gaara said.

A little irked, Izumi held back a huff. He had spent a lot of important time going over candidates for the important job of the Kazekage's secretary, and he didn't like seeing that all his work meant nothing. "She's seventeen. She has a desk by the door. Long black hair. Usually wears it down." He could keep going on about her, he knew her height, weight (well, she might have lied about that), birth date, blood type, her parents name, her previous jobs—he had gone over and over her application, comparing it against the other candidates. He had even put in consideration how attractive she was, party to see if his employer would show an interest in females (which had yet to happen that he had seen), and partly for strategy. He couldn't remember how many times a determined man had been sidetracked by a pretty face, and Izumi had figured she could come in handy against an irritating client. Izumi shook his head, Gaara had sadly disappointed him in many other ways, he wasn't about to brood about it now. "She's pretty," he tried.

Gaara shrugged, his mind turning back to Sakura. "Is she? I wouldn't know. I'm not usually downstairs…I sleep in here, remember?"

"Well, yes, you're right…which reminds me. Aren't you working later than usual?"

Gaara glanced at the clock. "Yes. I wanted to get a lot of work out of the way so I could come in later tomorrow…" Just then he realized how long Sakura must have been in his house, waiting. Crap. It hadn't really registered that staying longer in the office to make more time tomorrow would take away time today.

"You're coming in late tomorrow?" Izumi asked, blinking. Gaara usually didn't do that—actually, he never did that. What had caused this? "You didn't mention anything about it."

Gaara looked up at him, a little amused. "Is that going to be a problem?" he asked, knowing the answer.

"No, of course not…I'll just have to move some things around. With all the extra work you did today, you'll actually be ahead for tomorrow." Izumi was still surprised that Gaara was going home…he only did that when he wanted a really good night sleep, and he rarely sleep anyways.

"Good…" he glanced at the clock again. She was probably in bed by now…it had been a long while for her to stay up just to wait for him. _Great_, he thought sarcastically. _Good way to start off._ "I'll be going now, then." He pushed himself away from his desk and stood.

"Have a good night," Izumi said as Gaara walked out, placing his official hat on his head.

Gaara frowned as he walked down the stairs. What the hell was he going to do? Sakura would be asleep, but he wanted to talk to her. What was he going to say? Maybe he could just leave that for the morning…no, she might get upset that he didn't wake her up. Er…well, he'd just deal with it when he slipped into bed with her, she'd probably wake up from that, right?

The normal scowl on his face was erased when he thought of finally being able to sleep next to her again…just to be able to touch her. Oh, how he had longed to feel her against him all these months. He'd gotten so used to sleeping with her curled next to him that once she wasn't there anymore, he couldn't sleep at all. He'd gone back to how he used to be, staying up all night. Temari had mentioned once or twice about how grouchy he was, and after snapping at her to be quiet she didn't bring it up again. Oh, he was going to finally be able to touch her again…hell, even to see her was going to be great.

"Sir? You're leaving?"

Gaara snapped out of his strange little wonderland and saw a girl was standing behind the desk, just pulling a bag onto her shoulder. Dully he realized that this must be the secretary Izumi was trying to tell him about. What was her name? Koko? Carly? Something like that.

"Ah…yes." Not really wanting to be held up, he headed for the door.

"But why are you going home? Don't you usually stay here?"

"Yes," he said a little irritably, then stopped himself. Hey…she was a girl. He actually looked at her this time. Nice face, he guessed. She probably had a boyfriend…maybe she could give him a little female insight. What was her last name? Tatsuya? That sounded right.

"Ah…Tatsuya…"

"Call me Kimi-chan!" the girl chirped, smiling at him. This was actually the first time she had spoken with him, besides one or two unreturned hellos, and she wanted to make a nice impression.

"Right…" Not really liking her upbeat look, he forged on. "So…Kimi…chan…do you happen to have a boyfriend?"

Kimi blinked. Huh? "…no."

"No possible boyfriend? No guy in the picture?"

She shook her head, blushing slightly. What the heck? Was he coming on to her?

"Huh. Never mind then." So much for that, Gaara grumbled. Looks like he wasn't going to get a quick lesson on female insight today. He turned and left, leaving poor little Kimi-chan baffled behind her desk.

Crap. Gaara tried to figure out a plan as he walked down the completely deserted streets The thing was, he was used to strategizing on missions…with multiple enemies, possible sneak attacks, probably something on fire…not an (possibly) upset…woman? (Gaara didn't like the term of girlfriend, cause they weren't really…okay, whatever, he wasn't going there, and god-forbid any pet names.)

Would she be upset? He hadn't done anything wrong. So upset at him probably wouldn't be the deal. Maybe…

Gaara rolled his eyes. Like he knew what the hell was going through Sakura's head. Like he would be able to _figure out_ what would be going through her head. Okay…breezing through the situation _would _probably piss her off. 'Hey Sakura, what's up? Haven't seen you in a while…mind if I just slip in bed with you?'

_I am thinking _way _too much, _Gaara grumbled, rubbing his temples. _Just…stop thinking. Go to your room, quick little talk with Sakura, see if you can get some action, sleep. The end._ Sure. Good enough. He had not clue how to connect the dots, but hey, it was a start.

Once he got to his home, Gaara entered as quietly as possible and climbed up the stairs. Before he entered his room, he realized he didn't have a single clue as to what the hell he was going to do. He sighed. Well, this wouldn't be the first time.

Opening the door, Gaara slipped inside and moved to the bed—then realized that Sakura was not in it.

--

Sakura sat bolt upright when her door was slammed open, and she saw Gaara standing in the doorway. "G-Gaara?" she started, then glanced at the clock. "What are you doing, it's one in the morning."

When he strode forward, Sakura realized he looked angry. Uh-oh. She sat up quickly and swung her feet out of bed.

"Why are you here?" Gaara demanded.

"W-what?" Sakura frowned, not liking what was happening. 'Hi to you to, Gaara! How was your day?' "Temari said that you asked that I stay here for the night."

"I did. What I meant was, why are you in the guest room?"

His words made a more understandable sentence, but Sakura wasn't getting it. She was too sleepy to be angry at him for bursting into her room, and didn't want start a fight. "Because I'm a guest…?"

"You're not a guest," Gaara snapped. He moved forward, and Sakura moved to get up. Before she could stand, Gaara had wrapped an arm around her and dragged her to her feet.

"Wh—"

"My room, now," Gaara breathed against her neck, making Sakura's face bloom in red as he put both hands on her hips, pulling her to him. Oh, how he loved the feeling of her under his hands.

"What?" Sakura squeaked. Okay, she was not expecting that! Nor did she think that she would turn completely into jelly the moment she felt Gaara's hands on her.

_Okay, I wasn't really expecting that to work, _Gaara thought, but Sakura wasn't yelling at him or pulling away, so maybe she wasn't angry. Good. Now he could just bring her to his room and go to bed._ Good night sleep, here I come._

Surprisingly, Gaara didn't have a dirty thought in his head. It the past few weeks he had gotten a grand total of six hours sleep, and all he wanted to do was hold Sakura and frankly pass out. But Sakura was a different story. Thinking that Gaara had something _very_ different in mind than he intended, Sakura blushed and tried to think of something, but suddenly Gaara had swept her up and carried her out.

Surprised at Gaara's forwardness, she struggled to get her mouth to work. "Gaara, what are you talking about? We haven't even, even so much as talked and now—"

Gaara kissed her on the mouth and her words died in her throat. Without telling them to, her hands jumped up and settled on his neck, pulling him to her. "We can talk in the morning," Gaara said against her lips, and somehow managed to open the door to his bedroom while still carrying her.

Morning. Morning sounded pretty good to Sakura at the moment, especially now that Gaara's mouth was on hers. God, had he always been so great at kissing? In her own little wonderland, Sakura completely forgot what was going on and reveled in the moment. Now she felt stupid for being worried, Gaara of course still wanted her. Eyes half lidded, she opened her mouth to his kiss, but suddenly he set her down. About to protest, Sakura realized she was sitting on his bed, and she snapped right out of little wonderland. When had that happened?

Completely disgusted at herself for being so easily distracted, Sakura felt like slapping herself. God, just how easy was she! How the hell was she going to tell Gaara that she thought he was crazy for thinking that after not seeing him for months she'd be perfectly okay with what he was trying to pull after practically trying to cement herself against his body? Now what was she supposed to say? 'Sorry Gaara, I got distracted cause your tongue was in my mouth, but I can't believe you think that I'm just going to let you—' Great. Sakura quickly tried to figure out a way to talk herself out of this without making Gaara angry, but she—oh.

All thoughts stopped in her head as she turned back at Gaara. He was talking of his Kazekage robes.

Sakura blinked dumbly and stared at him, mouth still half open from previously making the decision to say something. She couldn't tear her eyes off him as he managed to strip off the outer robe and played with the inner ties, pulling them apart. Had his chest always been so, well, hot? And oh, those arms—

_Focus! _Sakura yelled at herself. _What is wrong with me? I'm just sitting here as Gaara's…oh, crap, there it goes_. Quickly closing her eyes, Sakura was torn between being desperately thinking of a plan and being disgusted with herself…along with being in complete awe of Gaara's body, thanks to her pesky deprived hormones.

Just as she opened her eyes, Gaara was kissing her again. Panicking, Sakura thrust her hands out— and they just so happened to land on his hips…and cloth. Huh?

Pulling away, Sakura nervously glanced down. Her fingers were settled on Gaara's boxers.

"Mind telling me what you're staring at?" Gaara asked, surprised at her. Did she know what she doing?

Feeling ridiculously stupid, she stuttered, "Y-you're wearing boxers."

"Yes…?"

"Well, I, um, didn't think you…wore…them," she said lamely, wishing she would stop talking.

"Did you come to this idea yourself?" he asked. Just what had she been thinking about when she came to that conclusion?

Sakura blushed. "Well, when, at my apartment…I did your clothes. You never had any boxers," she explained, feeling like shooting herself. Stop talking!

Gaara chuckled and kissed her. "Sakura, I walk around in robes all day. If you think I'm going to wander around commando through the streets, than you are sadly mistaken." Sakura just made a face and looked away, feeling like an utter idiot. "Now, would you mind removing you hands?"

"Huh?" Sakura glanced down and realized her hands were still on him. She snatched away her hands like they had been burned and hurriedly put them in her lap, clenching her eyes closed and cursing herself for being such an idiot.

Gaara couldn't help but smile at her. Her little episode there had taken all the tension away from him, and whether she was happy about it or not it really made him feel calmer. It was like they hadn't missed a beat.

Sakura shook her head and decided that she should probably quit while she was 'ahead' and pulled the blankets up, slipping under them, back to Gaara. He smirked and climbed in after her. "Oh, come on, don't tell me you're going to pout," he joked, happy that he hadn't been the one to make a fool of himself.

Sakura scowled, burying her face in her pillow. Yes, she was going to pout. She had just lost all self-respect for herself in less than a minute! Though it wasn't really what was going on, she had thought Gaara was trying to get her in bed. And after just a single kiss, she had gone along with it! What was wrong with her! And jeez, that little peek at Gaara, all of which she had seen before, had her practically drooling without a thought in her head.

_Gaara's supposed to be the sex-obsessed one, not me! Well, it isn't good that's he's sex-obsessed either, but that isn't the point…I'm supposed to be more level-headed than this! It's a very, _very_ bad thing when Gaara's the innocent one. Because if it's Gaara, I'll stop him. But if it's me…Gaara isn't going to be any help. I think I just might be a pervert._

Sakura groaned into her pillow, wishing she could turn off her thoughts for a few moments, just long enough to let her sleep. Instead, she had Gaara move closer to her and throw an arm over her, pulling her to him snugly.

She couldn't help but smile. All her worries were for nothing. Sure, now she had to muddle over the fact that she was possibly a closet pervert, but Gaara wasn't something for her to worry about anymore.

"Gaara?"

"Hmm?" he hummed, eyes closed. Already his body was slipping right back into the way he had it trained while the two of them were bound together—he was practically asleep already.

"I…missed this. And you."

He didn't say anything, but Sakura felt him kiss the nape of her neck. Smiling to herself, Sakura settled against his chest, just happy to be in his arms again.

--

**Aww. When I first wrote this, I had Sakura freak out a whole lot more, but as I was going over it I was kinda dissapionted…because I hadn't wrote it well, and it didn't make much sense. It was funny, but was kinda stupid. So I re-wrote and made her little spaz out not so spazzy, and I think its better this way. For any of you who didn't get it, don't worry.**

**Izumi and Kimi…I don't know if they're going to do anything, but it was fun freaking little Kimi out. I wanted to test out making my own characters, but I don't originals to become really important in the plot, in my opinion it usually takes away from fanfics. (I have a suspicion that some of you are seeing Kimi and Izumi doing a little bit more, and I'm in a good mood. I want to hear what you think what might happen—but don't suggest that I use it in the story. I already know what I'm going to do with them.)**


	5. Chapter 5

When Sakura just began to come out of sleep, she didn't want to wake up

**Hm…is this late? I think so, sorry about that. This chapter isn't very long…oh, who am I kidding, my chapters are never long! And I kinda like it that way. Well, I'm done talking to myself, so enjoy my midget of a chapter.**

--

When Sakura just began to come out of sleep, she didn't want to wake up. She was much too comfortable, and afraid that she would have to get up if she opened her eyes. After a moment though, she registered that she wasn't in her sleeping bag. So she thought back, and suddenly her eyes popped open.

Yup, that was Gaara sleeping right beside her. A smile moved to her mouth and looked at him. Dully she wondered if she was still dreaming, but no, she could see his chest rise and fall and felt the weight of his arm around her. After watching him for a few seconds, Sakura twisted her head around and looked for a clock, taking in her surroundings.

Gaara's room was pretty organized for the most part, and like the guestroom wasn't very personalized. A simple desk and table, with a bookshelf in the corner, a nightstand by the bed on Gaara's side, and a dresser, all with a slight masculine feel. She sat up when she spotted a clock on the nightstand and leaned over Gaara to see what time it was, but she must have moved too much, because he grumbled and sleepily reached for her, pulling her back down onto him.

"Gaara," Sakura started, but he rolled on top of her, tangling there bodies quite nicely.

"Stop moving," he muttered, and tucked his face into her neck, intending to go back to bed.

A little irritated and stupidly pleased, Sakura strained to look at the clock. It was nine thirty.

"Crap!" Sakura said, and tried to get up, but Gaara wouldn't allow it.

Blearily opening his eyes half way, he asked his pillow, "What it is?"

_"_Don't you have to get to the office? It's nine thirty, and I promised Tsunade that I would meet her at ten to talk!"

Gaara grumbled at her loud voice, wanting to go back to sleep. "Don't worry, its all taken care of."

"Huh?"

"I told them I was coming in late today…and I cleared up that meeting with Tsunade. Now be quiet and go to sleep." He closed his eyes again.

That irked Sakura a bit. What gave him the right to make her schedule? Sure, she wanted to spend time with him, but without even asking her? "Gaara—"

He didn't give her a chance to talk and kissed her into silence. "No talking. Bedtime," he grumbled, and then decided the matter by pulling the blanket over both their heads.

Sakura didn't remember him being so lethargic in the mornings or so moody, but she decided to let him have his moment. She wasn't about to start a fight, and besides…she was comfy. She pushed off the blanket so she could breathe, but Gaara didn't protest. So she just rolled her eyes and quieted down, and after a moment of hesitation she ran her hands up his back and to his arms, still not used to being able to touch him whenever she wanted.

After a few minuets Gaara was already drifting off, but then Sakura's voice broke into his mind.

"Gaara?"

"Hmm?"

"I need to use the bathroom."

Gaara groaned and rolled off her reluctantly, and she got off the bed. When she left the room she felt herself hesitate, and then felt silly. She had only been with him for one night, and already she went back into thinking they were still bound together. Sakura shook her head and went to the bathroom. As she walked back into the room, Sakura thought back to the time when they were bound to each other.

Gaara had always been the one to start anything intimate, so it kinda threw her off when all he wanted to do was sleep. She hated to admit it, but she wanted to feel his hands on her again like how it used to be (or maybe it was just her newly discovered inner pervert trying to get some action).

She blushed and glanced at Gaara splayed out on the bed. He looked like he was already asleep, making her frown. Shouldn't she be happy that he wasn't always trying to take advantage of her? So why the hell was she feeling ignored?

Pushing away that thought, Sakura climbed onto the bed, crawling over to Gaara. She heard him hum when she put her head on his shoulder and he lazily wrapped his arm around her. After a minute, she drew her hand up to his chest and began tracing random lines around his skin. Gaara's hand slowly came up and took hers to hold it still; her little touches were distracting him too much.

Sakura stared at their hands. This was actually the first time they had done that—hold hands, like…like a couple. She blushed at the thought, feeling silly. It was odd, but that really touched her. That sounded stupid, right? It did to her. What did it matter if they weren't like other couples? She…she didn't need to feel like other couples. So what if she and Gaara weren't…a conventional couple. She didn't need Gaara to buy her flowers or bring her out to dinner for her to know he cared. Though it would kinda be nice…

_Oh no, you are _not _going to start thinking like that, _Sakura told herself sternly. _So what if we're not like everyone else? Gaara's got plenty of things for me to like that other guys don't. Like…he's the Kazekage. Who else can say that? He's got one of the most important jobs someone could have. He's strong, he can protect me (_a part of her mind asked, _just who do you need protecting from?), he's intelligent. So what if he isn't sweet? He's nice to me, in his own way. And man, does he have a hot body—_Sakura kicked that thought clear out of her head, even as she looked at Gaara, shirtless and, well, hot. (Where the heck did that perverted side of her come from? Is sure wasn't around last time she was with Gaara!)

Sakura rolled her eyes. She wasn't about to start making a 'pros & cons' list of 'Traits of Gaara'. She pushed herself up and leaned over Gaara. She did know one thing she absolutely loved about him—he was one hell of a good kisser.

When Gaara felt her mouth on his, he was confused enough to be pulled out of near sleep and open his eyes. Sakura pulled away, a smirk on her lips. "Wha—" he tried, but Sakura's smile just widened and she kissed him again. Gaara wasn't usually slow on the uptake, and this was no exception. He went to sit up, but Sakura settled herself down on top of him and Gaara hesitated. Did he want Sakura to get off him? No, no he did not, he decided, when Sakura began kissing him again. He just moved his hands up to hold her in place and let his mind clear as Sakura went to work.

Sakura was a little surprised he didn't try to flip them after that tiny attempt. Maybe he was still half asleep? Sakura nixed that idea after registering how hard Gaara was trying to get his tongue in her mouth.

She decided to be a little mean and didn't let him get what he wanted. She pulled away abruptly, leaving Gaara half-lidded with a dull look on his face. When he realized she wasn't just pulling away for air, he blinked and looked at her. She just smiled.

"What is it?" he complained.

"That's what you get for making up my schedule without asking me," she said simply, then promptly got off him and started to move off the mattress.

Gaara frowned, not quiet understanding what happened, but then it clicked—she wasn't going to continue. He didn't like that. He made a grab for her, but Sakura was already slipping off the bed and out into the hallway. Grumpy and disgruntled, he shrugged off the bed, grabbed some pants from his dresser, and went off in search of her.

He was surprised to find her downstairs and fluttering around the kitchen, chatting with Temari.

"The pans are over there," Temari said, pointing at one of the cabinets. Sakura opened the door and pulled out one, grinning when she saw Gaara. "Glad you could join us, sleepyhead," Temari smirked.

Gaara glared at her for a moment, then set his eyes on Sakura. She didn't see him glower at her and asked over her shoulder, "So how does scrambled eggs and French toast sound?"

Before Gaara could reply, Temari chirped, "Great! I'm surprised you remembered."

Sakura just shrugged and smiled, but Gaara scowled. "Haven't you already eaten?"

"No, I was actually waiting for her to get up."

"Temari, Sakura isn't the house cook," he said in a growl.

His sister just shrugged. "Whatever. You've hogged her all morning, now it's my turn."

Sakura blushed and ducked her head into the fridge, looking for eggs. Cracking them and tossing the insides onto the pan, she was just looking around for the trash when the door for Kankuro's room opened. All three of them turned as they heard giggles and saw Kankuro stumble into the room, a smiling (and scantily clad) brunette practically on top of him, locked together at the lips. Sakura blinked and stared.

Neither of them seemed to notice they had company as they groped and giggled their way to the couch, where finally the girl broke free and bent down to pick up her shirt. She giggled again as Kankuro resumed exploring the inside of her mouth with his tongue and made her attempt at trying to pull her shirt on quite difficult. Finally she pulled away and put it on, but then Kankuro seemed to want to make her job even harder and began unbuttoning her skirt.

"AH-_hem," _Gaara said loudly, just as Sakura went to cover her eyes. The brunette gave a little squeak and turned toward them as Kankuro reluctantly pulled his hands away. Looking extremely embarrassed she quickly tried to push her skirt smooth, keeping her head down.

"I would prefer that you keep your little adventures in you room, Kankuro, and not where the rest of us can see your animalistic romps," Gaara said scathingly.

"Jeez, bro, I didn't know you were there. And besides, its nothing you haven't done with you're little girlfriend before," he said with a shrug and nod towards Sakura. "I bet you've—"

Kankuro's little bunny had just enough to yelp and duck out of the way as a frying pan hit him square in the face. Gaara, having just stood up, turned to look at Sakura, and Temari stared at her too. Her face was red and when she registered their stares, she pursed her lips and looked away. "You, um, might want to take a look at him, Temari," she mumbled and went back in the fridge for more eggs.

Temari smirked and got off her chair just as Gaara sat back down, quite happy with the way Sakura had dealt with his brother. Quick and painful, perfect. That should keep him from saying anything else about Sakura.

Temari walked over to him. "Come on, get up," she said, nudging Kankuro with her foot. "I'd leave, if I were you," she added, talking to the brunette. The girl didn't need any more prompting and scurried out the door. "Wow," she said, looking down at her brother. "You really pick some great girls, huh?"

"Oh, shut up, she was hot," he muttered as he pushed himself up.

"Oh, by the way…" Temari helped him to his feet. "Sakura could probably kick your ass, so you probably shouldn't be making any snide comments about her unless you want her to rearrange your face."

Kankuro scowled at her and picked up the frying pan. He plunked it down on the counter and Sakura turned to look at him. "Throwing this at my head was a little much, don't you think?" he asked, annoyed.

Sakura shrugged. She did think she had overreacted a little bit, but at least now he probably wouldn't say anything like that about her again. "You're a ninja, I thought you'd dodge it. And besides, you can handle it. I'm sure you've been hurt worse."

While her logic was correct, that didn't mean that Kankuro was going to accept it. "Still, a frying pan? All I did was mention—"

"Something crude involving a person who I happen to like," Gaara said sharply, turning to look at his brother. "Don't think I haven't forgotten your little episode you had back at the leaf village, yelling your head off about how I proposed to Sakura because she was having my child."

Temari gave a bewildered look at Sakura, who just put a hand to her face. Gaara didn't notice and continued. "You and your stupid mouth can't be trusted."

While Gaara and Kankuro had a slight staring match, Temari asked, "Sakura? What was that about you being pregnant?"

She sighed. "It was just…rumors."

Temari rose her eyebrows. "And just what exactly led to rumors being made about you and Gaara having a child?"

Sakura winced. "It was…just a little…misunderstanding." Like she could actually explain. Some of the people in her village still gave her pitying looks when she walked by, a few of the older woman insisted that Gaara had left her for an arranged marriage back in Suna, leaving her to raise the 'child' all by herself. "I'll…explain later."

--

**Tadah, all done. After writing this I saw I forgot to advance the plot again, sigh. I've got a bad habit of doing that. I remember that I did actually have a plan for this, but it got lost somewhere along the way. I tried to fit in Sakura's little wish that her and Gaara were like a more average couple, but I didn't want to make it a big deal, I think I'll use it later…or maybe not. We'll just have find out, won't we? (Because yes, even I don't know.)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Did I take long to update? I didn't really notice. Huh. I don't have much to say about this chapter, surprisingly. Its not like I don't like it, but I didn't have much trouble with it or anything to complain about like I usually do. (That sounds bad…)**

--

It wasn't long after breakfast that Gaara said he should be getting to his office soon. Sakura frowned, though she didn't know what she had been expecting. When he got up to leave, Sakura followed him to the door, wondering what on earth she would be doing for the rest of the day.

They hesitated awkwardly at the door, looking at each other.

"Er…" Gaara thought he should probably say something. He had seen the movies that Temari liked to watch when the husband goes off to work and the wife smiles, pecks him on the cheek, and waves him off…but that didn't really seem like that was going to happen.

"Hey…do you mind if I bring you lunch today?" Sakura asked, the idea having just popped into her head.

"Huh?"

"Lunch. You know, like a bento box."

"Alright…" Gaara said unsurely. "Wouldn't you rather to eat out or something?"

"Won't I get in the way of work? And I'd feel out of place," Sakura said. She could still remember how the Suna council had stared at her the other day.

"I guess if you don't want to, you don't have to stay…but at least bring it up to my office so I can see you, alright?" Gaara said.

"Sure!" Sakura replied, happy that he wanted to see her.

"See you then," Gaara said, and suddenly the awkwardness returned. "Well…"

Sakura stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him quickly, not wanting to make too much of a show in front of his two siblings, who she was pretty sure were watching. "Bye."

As she went to turn away, Gaara pulled her to him and kissed her back, much more intimate than her little quick peck. Apparently he didn't care whether or not his brother and sister were watching, from the way he was pinning her against him, but soon enough he had let her go and was out the door.

A little lightheaded, Sakura shook her head and turned back to the kitchen—only to see Temari smirking at her and Kankuro waggling his eyebrows. Her face reddening, she muttered, "Not a word, you two."

"Oh, I wouldn't _dream _of it," Temari said in mock innocence.

"And I wouldn't dare," Kankuro muttered under his breath.

Sakura frowned. "Hey…shouldn't you be going with him? I thought both of you helped Gaara with his duties."

"I finished up all my work yesterday," Temari said with a shrug. "I actually don't get that much, I just help here and there."

"And you?" Sakura asked, turning towards Kankuro.

"Any work I get I push over to the secretaries and advisors—"

"And me, you little free-loading mooch," Temari snapped lightly, elbowing him not-so playfully in the ribs.

Smirking at the duo, Sakura glanced around. So…what the heck was she going to do now?

Seemingly reading her mind, Temari asked, "Sakura, do you have anything to do?"

"No, actually…I guess I'll meet up with the Hokage when I go visit Gaara, but for now, nothing."

"Well…I already brought you for a tour of Suna…" Temari thought for a moment. "Is there anything important going on in your village?"

"No, not really."

"Well, what I think Gaara and Tsunade are going to be talking about is having ambassadors from each village have regular visits, to show the other lands that our alliance is strong."

Sakura rose her eyebrows. "Really? What, you think I might be an ambassador? Won't that kinda be abusing the kage name just so I can see Gaara?"

Temari shrugged. "What's the fun of having power if you can't bend the rules a little? And besides, you'd probably be a candidate anyway, even if you weren't involved with Gaara. I mean, think about it. You're the Hokage's apprentice, you're one of the leaf village's strongest ninjas, and you're smart.

"Gaara said if this idea did get off the ground, he'd like me to be an ambassador also," she added. "So next time I'm in your village you've got to show me around and introduce me to everyone, alright?"

Sakura smiled. "I think you've already met a few of my friends, haven't you?"

Temari shrugged. "The only one I can really remember is that Hyuga guy…and the boy I fought with at the exams. Nara."

"Shikamaru and Neji? Those are the only ones you remember?"

"Well, I remember you fought some blonde chick, but I wasn't really paying attention to the girls…" she said with a smirk. "Of course I know Naruto…and…oh, that guy in the creepy spandex."

"You mean Rock Lee," Sakura chuckled. "And yeah, he's a little out there."

Sakura and Temari talked about her home village for a while. She explained the unsure situation between Hinata and Naruto, how strong Shikamaru had gotten, and the crazy antics that Kakashi tried to pull every now and then. She also told Temari about the relationship between Anko and her sensei, making her laugh when she told the story of them acting like disagreeing parents over Gaara.

Before she knew it, it was almost noontime. Sakura got up and started to make a lunch for Gaara, still joking around with Temari as she puttered around the kitchen. Wrapping the box up, she said goodbye to Temari and headed to the door.

"Have fun!" Temari called after with a smirk.

"Ha ha," Sakura said over her shoulder, and left.

She was surprised that she remembered the way to Gaara's office so well. The trip didn't take long, only a few minuets, and soon enough she was standing in front of the glass doors she had entered the previous day. She went inside and was just standing in the lobby when she realized she didn't know where in the building Gaara's office was.

The secretary sitting at the desk in front of her glanced up and gave a polite smile, asking, "May I help you?"

"Yes, I'm—"

"Oh, you're the girl who came in yesterday with the Hokage!" she interrupted, recognizing her hair. "Are you here to see her?"

"No, I'm actually here to see the Kazekage."

"Oh? He doesn't like to be interrupted while he works. I can leave him a message that you came."

Sakura kept from smiling. "I'm pretty sure he wouldn't mind if I interrupted him."

The secretary still looked unsure, so Sakura said, "He asked that I come today."

"Well, if he said it was alright, then there isn't a problem. His office is upstairs, the last door of the hallway."

Sakura thanked her and followed her directions. Hesitating at the door, she figured she probably shouldn't just waltz in and knocked.

"Come in," a voice called.

Sakura opened the door and smiled when Gaara turned his head up to look at her from his desk.

"A visitor?" his advisor asked in surprise, blinking at her. He looked down at Gaara and was shocked to see a shadow of a smile split his face.

"Izumi, would you mind excusing us? We can continue this talk later," Gaara said without talking his eyes off Sakura.

"Y-yes, of course," the older man stuttered, staring at Sakura. As he left Sakura gave him a polite smile. He closed the door behind him.

"He looked surprised to see me," Sakura noted, walking over to Gaara's large desk.

"I forgot to mention you would be stopping by." Gaara pushed some papers off to the side to make room as Sakura set down the bento.

"What are you working on?" she asked, leaning over and glancing at his papers.

"Can't tell you that," Gaara replied, business like.

Smirking, Sakura rolled her eyes and walked to the window behind Gaara. "How can you stand the heat?" she asked as she looked at the view. She could see a large, busy market across the street. "Does the sound get distracting?"

"Hmm?" Gaara asked, swiveling his chair around and popping a shrimp in his mouth.

"The market," Sakura explained. "Doesn't it get noisy?"

Gaara shrugged. "I don't notice. If it does, I guess I just block it out."

"I wonder if I should buy some souvenirs?" she muttered to herself, but Gaara heard her.

Swallowing down some rice, he shook his head. "Not on this street. That's for tourists that don't know what they're doing with their money. You'll want to try looking around the one between the library and the academy."

Sakura grinned. "Look at you, sounding like the role model citizen. What, did some poor chump try to trick you out of your wallet?"

"Like anyone would dare," Gaara muttered.

Sakura smirked, turning back to look out the window again. "Do you have any suggestions for what I should do now? I don't fancy returning to Temari and Kankuro cracking jokes about me."

Gaara gave her a look. "How bout stay here?"

"Huh? But don't you, you know, have stuff do?" she asked nervously.

"It's my lunch break," he shrugged. "And I'm the Kazekage, I can do anything I want."

"Should you be talking like that?"

"Come here." He patted the desk. "Eat lunch with me."

Hesitating, she walked over. For some reason she felt shy all of a sudden, nervous to be so close to him with no one around. (That made no sense, right? It wasn't like he was going to jump her or anything, and she had spent the entire night with him and he hadn't done anything.) "I only packed enough for you."

"I haven't had much of an appetite lately."

"Is that so?" she asked with a smirk, looking over his shoulder to see the bento. It was already half gone.

Gaara coughed, looking away. "Well, I haven't had anything as good as your cooking in a while, so…"

A smile split her face. Was he embarrassed? That was strangely adorable. "So…you got used to my cooking so much that nothing else tastes good? It's been three months!"

"Yeah, I noticed," Gaara muttered in a grumble, thinking about more than just her cooking. Sakura didn't notice and grabbed the last shrimp, irking Gaara a little, but he decided to let it slide.

"See? I ate with you. Mind if I go now?"

Gaara looked up at her. "Why are you so eager to leave?"

Sakura almost winced. His tone made her feel guilty—it wasn't hurt or angry, just flat. Unable to think of a lie, she blurted, "I'm nervous."

"Nervous?"

Sakura felt her face heat up, feeling like an idiot. How come Gaara never blurted stupid stuff like that? It wasn't fair!

"Sakura?"

She blinked and realized Gaara had stood. Before she could react, Gaara had stepped up close to her and was watching her. "Nervous about what?"

Refusing to let herself just blurt out more, she pressed her lips together and shook her head.

"You're nervous about being alone with me?"

"Not in a bad way," she said quickly, making Gaara smirk. Ah, crap.

"Not in a bad way?" he asked smoothly, cocking his head. "Then…you're nervous in a good way? My, Sakura, just what do you think I'm going to do?"

Sakura knew that he was sounding way too cocky for his own good and that she should snap at him, but for all her strong attitude, she was dismayed to feel her knees go weak.

"You know," Gaara continued, "last night we didn't get much of a chance to catch up…"

"Catch up? Catch up is good!" Sakura babbled weakly, taking a step back. "A lot of things have happened since you left, you know. Do you remember that time we had to go to Naruto's place—and, er, stay…there…?" her voice failed as Gaara took a step forward, putting an arm around her.

"You're talking to much again," he murmured, pressing his forehead against her.

"Am I?" she asked weakly. "You'd think I do better at distracting you with all my training."

"Sakura, nothing could distract me right now that my hands on you."

"You sure? Because I could try—I could keep talking, you know, and—"

Gaara put a stop to Sakura's rambling and kissed her. And well, to be frank, Sakura melted. In the back of her mind she knew she really should be annoyed at herself for such awful willpower, but all she cared about was that Gaara had his arms around her and his mouth on hers.

It had been too long since he had kissed her. Sure, last night they had kissed, but that was just simple pecks on the lips to try and say, 'I missed you' 'I want to be with you'. Nothing hard, nothing rough, nothing deep or passionate.

These last three months they had been separated, Sakura played around with ideas of their reunion. She imagined that it might be a simple I missed you and make up hugs, sometimes she thought about marching over to Suna, dragging him out of his chair and making him apologize for not seeing her, other times she would imagine he would just show up at her apartment with his unique smile and a tight hug and sweet kiss on the lips.

This was nothing like that. She had never expected anything so…physical. Gaara had her pinned up against him, barely on her tip-toes with one hand fisted in his shirt, the other pulling him down to her. She could feel his hot breath, his muscles through his robes pressed up against her, and just the heat coming off his body, and she loved it. After three months of nothing, Sakura's hormones pretty much kicked her common sense out of her mind and demanded that she needed (and, well, let's face it, secretly_ wanted_) this.

Not a single thought was going through her head, and Sakura didn't care in the least. This wasn't like last night when she was nervous and shy, thinking that Gaara was trying to go way farther than she was ready. This was now, with just her and Gaara in the room, and they were both desperate for contact and the feel of each other.

Gaara registered that she wasn't acting how she usually did. She wasn't being shy, she wasn't being reluctant, and it excited him to see that she was completely okay with what he was doing. Gaara didn't give it a second thought when he pushed papers off his desk and picked up Sakura, plopping her down and pulling her face to his. Sakura's hands slid down from his hair to his shoulders, just getting a thrill from touching him. Her hands continued, down his chest, down his sides, making Gaara electrically aware of what she was doing. Without thinking, without looking, Sakura's hands found his hips and pulled him closer to her, making Gaara take a sharp breath and breathe her name against her mouth.

The door opened suddenly and Shizune walked in, the stopped and stared like a deer in headlights. Sakura froze, hands still on Gaara, staring at Shizune in shock.

"Ever heard of knocking?" Gaara asked coolly, not bothering to move his hands off Sakura. "The door's there for a reason, you know."

"S-Sorry!" Shizune said loudly and hurried out, slamming the door closed.

"Now, where—huh?"

Sakura pushed him away so she could get off the desk, her face a red like he had never seen. "Oh, god," she muttered, bringing her hands to her face.

"Sakura?"

"I can't believe she saw that!" she burst out, mortified. "I—I can't believe we were even doing that to begin in, and—and on your _desk_ for Pete's sake!" she cried. "Oh, why did it have to Shizune?"

"Would you have preferred if it was my advisor?" Gaara asked.

"That's not funny!" Sakura said loudly, distressed. "She—she saw us!"

"All we were doing was kissing—"

Not hearing him, Sakura put her hand back to her face. "I—I'll see you later," she stuttered.

"What? Wait, Sakura!" Gaara called after her, but she had already closed the door behind her.

--

Sakura walked as fast as her feet could carry her back to the Sabaku residence, the heat not helping cool her head in the least. She was unbelievably grateful when Temari and Kankuro were nowhere in sight and she hurried up to the guestroom, plopping down on the bed. She set her elbows on her knees and put her face back in her hands.

Not only was she concerned that Shizune had seen them, but she was completely shocked with her own actions. Where the hell had that come from? Where was her usual shyness, her modesty? She hadn't cared in the least where Gaara's hands had gone, so long as he was touching her skin. Hell, she couldn't even _remember_ where they had been. Sakura could feel her face heat up again.

It wasn't like Sakura was a complete prude, she liked kissing, but that was a little much for her. She had always thought she would be able to tell herself when to stop and that she would never lose herself after just feeling Gaara touch her, but not a single conservative thought went through her mind after Gaara had laid his hands on her.

Sakura didn't know if she was overreacting, but that really bugged her. It was like the previous night—if she didn't stop the two of them, then Gaara sure wasn't going to step up to the plate and save her—her _virtue_ or whatever it could be called. Sakura had always thought of herself as a straight laced girl, but if she had seen another couple doing what she and Gaara had been doing, she would have been shocked, and maybe even a bit scandalized.

_It wasn't that bad, _she tried to tell herself. _It wasn't like you were in public or anything, so what does it matter if you weren't as chaste as normal?_

_It matters because I don't want Gaara to see it! _She argued back.

_So what if he sees you like that? It's not like he's going to start thinking worse of you for being intimate with him._

Ignoring the fact she was arguing with herself, she replied, _I don't want him thinking I'm comfortable with doing those kind of things!_

_Not comfortable? You were just gluing yourself against Gaara a little while ago, and you seemed plenty comfortable back then. Why are you having second thoughts?_

Musing over the phrase 'second thoughts', considering she was having a two sided conversation in her head, and wishing she could smother that second voice with a pillow, she stopped and thought about it. As annoying as it was, she hadn't felt _bad _or like she was doing something 'wrong' when she had been kissing Gaara. She had only been embarrassed when Shizune had walked in and seen her. So was she truly just upset that they had been caught, and she didn't mind doing those things?

With her head starting to hurt, Sakura realized that she was going to start thinking in circles if she continued and only stress herself out more if she kept it up. Groaning, she fell back on the bed and decided to try stop thinking and rest for a little while.

Sakura was confused when she opened her eyes and her room was just getting dark. She had fallen asleep? Glancing at the clock, she realized she had been out for a good four hours—talk about a power nap. Ruffling her hair, she yawned and got up, trying to shake off her sleep. Hearing voices from downstairs, she went to see how was here.

"Hey, look who's up!" Temari teased with a smirk. "Had a good dream?"

Sakura shrugged and took a seat down next to her on the couch. "Who were you talking to?"

"Hmm? Oh, Kankuro's little bed bunny just left, she was looking for one of her high heels."

Sakura gave her a quizzical look. "How do you go home with just one high heel?"

Temari laughed. "I have no idea. So how did your little visit with my brother go?" she asked innocently.

Thankfully Temari didn't see Sakura's blush. "It was…eventful."

"Eventful?" Temari questioned.

"Oh, nothing. Forget I said anything," she mumbled.

--

**I typed up most of the middle of this chapter, the kissing scene, one in the morning last night because I didn't feel like sleeping. It was weird, because I didn't have to stop think like I usually do, but the next day I was just staring at my computer without a clue of what to write. Apparently when I'm sleep deprived or craving caffeine my imagination really steps up to the plate. (Which I find unbelievably stupid and annoying.) Oh well. **

**The kissing scene isn't really how I had planned it on first, but I was a little unsure on getting detailed and things like that…even though I kinda wanted to (I'm embarrassed to admit that….). I had planned to use this sequel to deepen Gaara and Sakura's relationship and get it more physical, more intimate, but One, I'm worried that some of my readers might get a little turned off my that, and Two, I'm not used to writing such things, so I don't want the quality to be bad. Eh, I'll probably get there…eventually. (Wow, that was a long AN for me, huh?)**


	7. Chapter 7

This file has been sitting on my computer for a couple of days now…I kept thinking, "oh, I'll edit it tomorrow…oh, the next day

**This file has been sitting on my computer for a couple of days now…I kept thinking, "oh, I'll edit it tomorrow…oh, the next day. I'll post it now—oh hey, what's on TV? Okay, I should probably edit it now…nah, I want to play Sims." So, I've finally gotten around to editing it, so here you go. (Damn my easily distracted mind!)**

**--**

Sakura was surprised when she glanced at the clock and saw that it was already seven. Where had the time gone? All she had been doing was talking with Temari, and she had lost track of time for so long?

"Do you want me to make dinner?" she asked.

Temari smiled sheepishly. "I was waiting for you to ask that." Sakura grinned, rolling her eyes, and got up to move over to the kitchen.

"Temari, can you cook?" she asked.

The older girl shrugged, watching as Sakura went to work. "Yes, enough to get by anyway. It taste fine, but I wouldn't call it good."

Sakura glanced into the cabinets and fridge to see what she could make. Seeing that there wasn't much, she decided on some simple pasta.

Kankuro walked through the door just as she was finished. She gave him a surprised look. "Did you plan that or something?"

"Plan what?" he asked.

"You walked in just as the food was done."

"Really? Cool. Can I have a plate?"

Sakura just rolled her eyes and grabbed another from the cabinet.

As they ate, Sakura kept glancing at the clock, though she realized it was kind of pointless since she didn't know when Gaara was going to be home. Temari seemed to be thinking the same thing and asked, "Sakura, did Gaara say when he was going to finish up work?"

"Hmm? Oh, no."

"How come?"

"I was, er, I forgot to, that's all."

Temari just gave a little 'oh' and went back to eating, but Kankuro seemed to sense something was behind her little stutter. Before he said anything though, he thought better of it, seeing as how his morning had gone. Best stay on the good side of the woman who made you food, he figured.

But now the thought of Gaara was back on Sakura's mind, and she began to do her troublesome 'thinking' habit again. She hadn't even considered it before, but would Gaara be aggravated that she had just up and left like that earlier today?

That little thought stayed with her even as she took a shower (Temari had actually volunteered to wash the dishes, as a thank you for making dinner) and went into the spare room to change. Deciding that she would find out whether or not she thought about it, she tried to put it out of her mind, attempting to distract herself by picking out her pajamas (not the most engrossing thing, but the only thing she had to do at the moment).

She smiled when she saw what she had packed. Knowing that nights in the desert were supposed to be bone-chillingly cold, she had brought her 'winter' PJs. Her favorite pair had little hearts on them, another with little bunnies, but she'd rather not let Gaara see those. And besides, sleeping next to Gaara the previous night, as Sakura recalled, had been quiet _cozy_.

Tucking her towel more securely, she grabbed her pack and plopped it on the bed, riffling through it. She wanted something that wouldn't get her too hot, it made it too hard to sleep that way—especially with Gaara lying right next to her. She pulled out something green and saw it was a leg of a nice silk pair of pants. Knowing that she had a matching top in there somewhere, she stuck her hand in and ruffled around. Feeling more silk, she pulled it out. She had two things in her hand. One—ha!—was her matching top. The other—

Sakura's face flamed as she hurriedly dropped it. What she had pulled out was a little plum colored nightie, which Sakura _knew _for a fact se had never bought! Had—had Tsunade or Shizune slipped that into her pack as a joke? Like she would ever wear that! And in front of Gaara? Hell would freeze over before that happened.

Grabbing it with the intent of shoving it into the bottom of her bag (or tearing it into pieces), Sakura saw that a piece of paper had been safety-pinned to it. Ripping it off, she read: _Hey, Sakura! How's Suna? Thought you could use a little something to get you and Gaara in the mood while you visit. ____ Ino. (P.S. Get me something pretty while you're over there.)_

Sakura groaned and crumpled the note, throwing it into the waste basket across the room. Ino was insane as ever. She was still pondering what she was going to do with Ino when she got back as she dressed.

From outside the room she heard someone climb up the stairs and moved to the door, poking her head out into the hallway. Gaara was standing there, opening his own bedroom door. Sensing Sakura, he turned around.

"Hey," Sakura said, moving out of the doorway and over to him. "Did you have some of the dinner I left you?"

"I ate before I came home," he said distractedly, as if he was thinking of something else. Sakura cocked her head. "Why were you in the guest room again?" he asked, just noticing and wondering if she was going to try to sleep in there again.

"I left my pack in there and I had to change," she explained. As she talked she glanced into what she could see of Gaara's bedroom, and an odd feeling of hesitation washed over her. It seemed weird to her to just waltz into his room and snuggle down into the blankets, but she'd feel even stranger if she asked.

Gaara didn't notice her minor dilemma and shrugged, walking into his room, Sakura following. She noticed he still had that distracted look in eye, but before she asked, he had opened his mouth.

"Why did you run away after Shizune walked in?"

Sakura blinked. Trying to buy some thinking time, she said, "I didn't 'run away.' I just…left."

"Without warning and much too soon. Why? It was only Shizune."

Sakura's cheeks grew pink. "I don't…like being seen when we…you know," she finished awkwardly, not wanting to go there. Her embarrassment and the little conversation she had had with herself earlier was coming back, and she tried to force those thoughts out, watching Gaara.

She had thought that he wouldn't have accepted her lame excuse and demanded for a better one, but oddly enough, he seemed to be thinking it over. After a moment, he asked, "Why don't you like being seen?"

Her face got hotter. "I think it's…improper. It's something to be done in private."

"It was private, before Shizune walked in," he argued, but not like he was agitated. "And it was after she left."

"That's not the point," Sakura told him, though was still a little surprised he was trying to understand to this extent. Usually Gaara just told her what he thought, his rules about that, and usually went about doing things along those lines. She felt like she should at least put in as much effort as he was. "It…ruined the moment."

"So you didn't mind what we were doing before?" he asked.

"…No, I didn't mind. I kinda…liked it," she said in a small voice.

A sly smirk went to his mouth, as he recalled how she had molded herself to him while they were in his office. "You acted very…different earlier."

Sakura pursed her lips and looked to the side as Gaara smirked even wider. "You were seriously not embarrassed that Shizune saw us doing that right in the middle of your office?"

Gaara shrugged. "No, not really. I was a little annoyed that you left, though."

Trying to play it off, she mimicked him and shrugged too. "What, disappointed that you had to finish your lunch all by yourself?"

"No," Gaara said quietly, putting both hands on her waist, making her jump a bit. "I was disappointed that we didn't continue."

In the back of her mind she annoyed that almost every attempt she made at being coy failed horribly, but the rest of her was, as much as Sakura hated to admit it, getting geared up, her heart thumping. Gaara was watching her with that damn smirk of his, and when he saw that she didn't look quiet as shy as usual, he decided to test the line a little bit.

Sakura yelped when he suddenly picked her up by the back of her thighs she and grabbed his shoulders, startled. He grinned at her and pressed her back against the door (she didn't realize it had been closed, but didn't quite care), and Gaara pressed his mouth to hers.

Now, Sakura knew she should she be ticked off that Gaara had just shoved her against the wall and assaulted her without warning. But even before he had placed his lips on hers she had been…well, thrilled. Startled, but excited and anticipating.

In an attempt to save face though, she tried to act like she was affronted and cocked her head up so Gaara couldn't kiss her. He didn't hesitate for more than a second before simply moving his lips to her throat. Sakura grumbled in irritation—not only because her plan had failed, but because she really liked what he was doing. Gaara heard her and pulled away, making Sakura cautiously look down at him.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, trying to sound teasing, though all he wanted to do was continue. "Is this not private enough for you? Or is someone watching through the windows?"

She frowned down at him. "The door knob is hurting my back."

"Oh." He set her down and glanced around her. "Wait, the door knob is no where—"

Sakura pounced on him, making him stumble back, his feet knocking against the bottom of the bed. The two of them tumbled back onto the mattress, bouncing a bit.

"Sakura—Mmph?"

She cut him off with a kiss, knowing she was smirking from ear to ear. She was getting annoyed that every time she and Gaara were together, he was in control. Sure, she liked it, but she didn't want it to get boring (and yes, she liked to surprise Gaara every now and then).

Gaara didn't seem to mind though, and his hands slid up the sides of her legs, one stopping at her hip, the other continuing up over her back and to her head, pulling it down to hold her still as he moved his lips against hers.

Sakura didn't know why, but this didn't feel…much different than usual, which disappointed her. Sure, she was pretty happy with this new feeling of power she had over him—but what would happen if she tried to push it a little…?

Before she could act on that little (kinda bold) plan, Gaara was moving under her. She pulled back for a second, but Gaara moved with her, wrapping an arm around her waist. He pulled himself along the mattress with her so he could lean against the pillows and ran his free hand through her hair, pressing his mouth to hers.

Sakura pursed her lips. Leaning back, she cocked her head and asked, "So being comfortable is more a priority to you than kissing me?"

"No…" he said breathily, eyes on her mouth, willing it to come closer. This stopping habit she had was annoying.

"Oh, so you just don't like me on top?" she asked. She didn't really mean it, but she kind of liked seeing Gaara getting desperate. That sounded a bit mean, but it was amusing to see his eyes unfocused like that and his mouth a little slack.

Not really paying attention to what he was saying, and still willing her mouth to come closer, he muttered, "No, no, that was really nice, I liked it." Sakura smiled, but still didn't lean down to him, inwardly preening for that compliment. Holding back a whine, he said, "What's the problem? You're on top now, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I guess," Sakura said, fighting a smile. He really did go clueless when they were together. So she wasn't the only one, after all. That made her feel better…but she still wasn't going to pass an opportunity to make him…beg? Could she push him that far?

Finally, she leaned back to him and Gaara thought he was going to get what he wanted, but then she ducked her head and her lips found his neck. "Ah…" Okay, that wasn't what he expected, but it was nice. It was even nicer when she started to push aside his robe and moved her lips to his collarbone. "That's …yeah…" he murmured, closing his eyes.

Sakura rolled her own eyes in response and tried to figure out just how the hell she was going to be able to undo his robes. "These are stupidly complicated," she told him, looking for a hint of a tie or button, or something.

Gaara chuckled, even though he wasn't happy with this momentary pause, it wasn't going to last long. "Here," he said quietly, sitting up a bit. His hands found the tie on his left hip and he pulled the outer robe open, then tugged at the other tie and shrugged out of it, leaving his thinner, white outer robe.

"How can you stand wearing two layers in this heat? You live in the _desert,_" she said.

Gaara chuckled again. "It doesn't bother me. And I spend most of my time in my office, where it's cool. Now…would you mind if I…?"

"If you what?" she asked.

Gaara rolled them over quickly, so she was lying on his robe under him and before she could protest he leaned down and cupped her face, kissing her. He moved his knee between her legs and slid his hand down her chest, lingering slightly.

Sakura stiffened up, but Gaara didn't notice. She just realized how…well, er, heated, things were getting. Now that she wasn't in control, her whole perspective changed. Gaara looming over her, face a little flushed and breathing quick, his thin robe parted enough so she could see his chest…and Gaara didn't seem to have any intention of stopping.

His mouth was moving against hers, his tongue was licking against her lips asking to be let in as he lowered his body down on her. Sakura hesitated, thinking way too fast. Was she okay with this? It had been a while since she and Gaara had been bound together, but she didn't remember them being so intimate. Trying to think, even as she could feel Gaara's hands running over her body, she made up her mind, opening her mouth to him.

She decided that so long as that robe stayed on, and he didn't try taking off any of her clothes, then it was alright. _That _she knew she wasn't ready for…but she was willing to try this. She could…she could stop it if she didn't want to continue.

"Sakura?" Gaara questioned softly. "You alright?"

She blinked. "Huh? Why?"

"You're…not responding," he said awkwardly. He might as well be kissing a piece of wood for all she was doing. Well, a soft attractive piece of wood.

"Um…sorry. I'm just thinking too much."

"Thinking about what?" he asked, trying to get it out of the way so they could continue.

"Er…stuff. And why do you care?" she asked defensively.

"Why do I—?" he began, a little annoyed. "Oh, I wonder."

Sakura scowled and pulled his face to hers, making sure he couldn't continue. And for once, Gaara fought her. He yanked away, glaring at her. "Sakura, what's with the attitude?"

She didn't answer him, rolling over onto him quickly, pressing her mouth against him again. Gaara growled and put his hands on her shoulders, pushing her away. "Sakura, answer me. Why are you…?" Gaara didn't know the word for it. "I'm trying to be—nah-_ahhhh…_"

Sakura smirked as she pulled his head back by the hair—not hard, but firmly. She didn't want to talk right now, and it was weird for Gaara to try to start a conversation in the middle of this. (And she found it really, really empowering that he went completely limp when she tugged at his hair. She had never guessed that she would be able to use what she had learned all those months ago…)

She kissed his throat, and after a small hesitation, nipped it. She could feel him shudder under her and knew that his little mood had completely disappeared. His hands slid from her shoulders to her hips, pulling her closer, letting his head fall back.

Not sure if she would be breaking her own rule, Sakura nervously let her hand slide under his robe, running over his chest. She felt him take a sharp breath and he pulled her face to his, his grip on her tightened. Pretty sure she shouldn't push it, or encourage Gaara to try the same, Sakura removed her hand and set it against Gaara's cheek.

"It's getting late…" Sakura murmured.

"Is it?" Gaara asked, uninterested.

"I think we should…you know, stop."

"Now?" Gaara asked, his fingers making small circles on her sides. They were just getting started!

"Yes, now."

"But that's no fun…why now?" He had thought that Sakura was…in the mood, sort of. He knew he sure was.

"Because," Sakura said. "If we don't stop now, then you won't want to stop at all."

"I don't want to stop now either," Gaara pointed out.

"Gaara…" she said reluctantly.

"Sakura…" he mimicked, then smirked when she glared at him. "Fine, all right, all right…" he lifted her off him and sat up, kissing her on the mouth, then leaning in to whisper in her ear, "But you'll owe me tomorrow."

"Oh?" she asked, feeling her face heat up. "And what's that?"

Gaara just shrugged, watching her with an amused expression. "Don't know yet…you'll find out when I think of it."

Sakura pursed her lips and looked away. She was going to have to work on the blushing habit she had. She just sighed and pulled back the blanket, slipping into it as she glanced at Gaara.

He was taking off his robe, just like the previous night. She was _really _going to have to work on that stupid blushing thing she did. Gaara noticed her watching him and grinned widely. "Enjoying the view?" he asked.

"Don't get cocky," she snapped.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because it'll go to your head," she huffed, slipping under the covers and turning her back to him.

Gaara just shook his head and set his robes aside, slipping into bed with her. When she gave no sign of rolling over and wanting to cuddle with him, he just moved over to her and firmly settled himself against her. He heard her grumble and just placed a kiss at the back of her neck. After she didn't respond, he frowned, placing kisses all down her neck and over her shoulder.

Finally she shrugged him off rolled over to face him, glaring. "Stop that! I can't sleep if you do that."

"You like it," he accused.

"So? I like sleep better."

"Lair."

Face flushing, she said, "Let me get some sleep."

Half annoyed and half amused, Gaara pulled her to him. She didn't protest and mutteed, "Good night," then settled her head by his shoulder. Gaara set one arm over her, placing his chin on top of her head. Sakura hummed, already drifting off. He lay there, running his hand up and down her back, trying to think up of what she would 'owe' him the next day.

--

**Huzzah! It's finally done…and I have to say, I enjoyed Sakura's miniature dominatrix moment…I think I'll write more, even though I thought it didn't fit for Gaara to be submissive like that. Oh well, I thought I might as well see how it went. It was only a little hair pulling after all…and Gaara totally liked it.**


	8. Chapter 8

When I posted the last chapter, I realized that I'm making more chapters than I want

**When I posted the last chapter, I realized that I'm making more chapters than I want. I had originally planned to have what I've written in this so far to fit in hopefully three, maybe four chapters because I have a lot more planned, and I don't want it to have about 30 chapters. I forgot about that though, so from now on, I'll be trying to make my chapters longer.**

**--**

Gaara ran his fingers through Sakura's hair in slow, smooth strokes, eyes half lidded. He had been awake for a while now, and after giving up on going back to sleep, he had switched his attention to the girl sleeping at his side. No, he decided as he looked at her sleeping form, not girl…young woman.

She didn't stir as he pushed the hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear so he could watch her more closely, not bothering to move his hand away. Every now and then her expression would change and Gaara would idly wonder what she was dreaming about.

If he had imagined this before, he would have probably thought that he would be bored, impatiently waiting for her to wake up. But now that he was lying next to her, he didn't mind that she wasn't awake. He was completely content just watching her, just touching her, just being near her.

This quiet moment had Gaara completely relaxed, and he resumed stoking her hair. He assumed it was all that conditioner his sister stocked up on (that he had to fight for room against in the shower) that made her hair so soft and silky. Her skin was the same, even on her hands, he found out, as he moved his own to touch her upturned palm. A small smile crossed his face as he wondered if she used lotion, because otherwise her hands would certainly be rough from training and missions. He ran his fingers over the faint lines on her palm, then rubbed his thumb over the top of her hand.

He didn't bother to wonder why just simple contact with her skin was so addictive and calming, why he _needed_ to be touching her when she was around. His hand slowly went up her arm, stopping only when he reached her sleeve, moving back down.

He didn't notice that her breathing had quickened, that she was slowly waking up. She made a small noise in the back of her throat, not really aware of her surroundings yet. After a few moments, she registered that something was moving along her arm, and was about to smack it away when she realized it wasn't a bug. She figured it was just Gaara shifting in his sleep and didn't bother opening her eyes, settling back into that calm place that would eventually led her to sleep.

Her plan was interrupted, however, when she felt his fingers move over her shoulder, along her collar bone, and slipping just slightly under the collar over her pajamas, dipping towards her breasts. Sakura's breath hitched and she was about to demand just what the hell did he think he was doing—especially while she was half asleep—but his fingers didn't go any father, didn't hesitate, and went on to her opposite shoulder. When his little expedition was stopped by the sheets, he retracted back up her shoulder, sliding over her neck.

Sakura was curious about what he was doing, and a little apprehensive about what he was thinking, so she decided try feigning sleep. What was he doing? Had he done this while she was asleep the previous night?

Gaara's fingers moved along her jaw and followed it up to her ear, up along her hairline. His hand slid down to her brow, then dipped down her nose. He faltered as his fingertips found her mouth, and he traced her lips carefully, softly. After a few moments, letting his touch linger, he replaced his hand back to hers, interlacing their fingers. Sakura hesitantly squeezed back and Gaara smiled, thinking that she had done it unconsciously in her sleep. He pulled her hand up and pressed his lips to it, watching her face as he did so.

Sakura was confused, to say the least. Was this really Gaara? Could it be? His actions were so different then his usual rough touches, his hurried and forced-to-be gentle embraces. The words "soft" and "tender", or "affectionate" never came to mind when she thought of Gaara, but that was what he was being. His touches were soft, he was being tender, his kiss was near affectionate. What was going through his head? Why was he…?

Sakura opened her eyes and picked her head up, getting Gaara's attention.

"You're awake?" Gaara asked, lowering their hands.

"Gaara, what were you…?" Sakura asked, but then Gaara was leaning in, and before she could finish he was kissing her.

There was little softness or tenderness in the kiss to remind her of how he had been moments before. She made a noise against his lips, her free hand going up to his chest, neither to pull him closer nor push him away. She half wanted to say, 'no, go back to what you were doing before,' but knew she wouldn't. However, when Gaara went to release her hand to pull her closer she squeezed it tighter, breaking away from him.

"What?" he asked.

"What were you doing while I was sleeping?" she asked, though Gaara registered the demanding look in her eye.

"Sleeping next to you…?" he said, confused.

"No, just before," Sakura said, feeling awkward. "You…you were touching me."

"Oh." Gaara glanced down at their hands, just now realizing how strange that would probably seem for him to be doing that. "I just…wanted to make sure I wouldn't forget what you felt like."

Sakura gave him a strange look. "What are you talking about?"

Gaara kept himself from making a face. "I forgot to tell you last night. I…got a little _distracted_, if you remember…"

Sakura cocked her head at him. "You forgot to tell me what?" Why was he acting weird? He was almost…guilty?

He looked at her. "Tsunade caught me just as I was leaving the office last night. She said a runner had just come to her and that she had to return to the Leaf village as soon as possible, and she wanted me to tell you that you were to be ready at noon to leave."

"Is everything alright?" Sakura asked, alarmed. For Tsunade to be called away from a political visit there must be an important problem.

"She didn't say anything about that, but she didn't seem too stressed. More irritated than anything."

"Oh, alright…" Sakura said, calming down. She saw the look on Gaara's face and asked, "What, were you afraid I was going to get angry?"

"I would have been, if you forgot to tell me something like that."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I don't like yelling first thing in the morning. But Gaara, I was the one who was…distracting you, so I can't really get upset."

Gaara smirked at that, recalling the previous night. Sakura didn't see it and said, "But I really didn't want to leave so soon…I've only been here for barely even three days." She frowned, sighing. "I guess I should get ready…"

His smirk faded as he watched her. He didn't want her to go. "It's still early," he pointed out. "You don't have to start right now."

Sakura frowned. "But I had promised Temari and Kankuro that I would make them breakfast."

Gaara scowled. "What did you come here for? Did you come this far across the desert to make food for my siblings, or did you come to see me?"

Sakura pursed her lips. "You know the answer to that."

"Then why…" he asked, moving closer to her, "are you thinking of them, while I am right here?"

"Gaara, every thought in my head doesn't revolve around you," she told him, not wanting him to get too bigheaded.

"Well, they should," he said, now leaning over her. And dammit, Sakura saw the look in his eye. She could see that it was going to be a little difficult to persuade him off his goal now.

She put a hand over his mouth as he leaned in, not in the mood to just roll over and let him get what he wanted. "No, they shouldn't. But let's ignore that for the moment. I'm assuming you want me to stay here with you than go downstairs?"

Gaara glared at her over her hand, forcing a nod. He did not like being prevented from kissing her, especially when he knew she liked it too. But yanking her hand away probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, he figured, so he just sat there. Why was she being difficult?

"Alright then," she said, mouth beginning to get dry. Sakura had intended to do this ever since she found out she was going to Suna to see Gaara, but the whole "details" and "specifics" of what she was going to do hadn't really been thought over, and now wouldn't be a good time to get tongue tied or flustered. "I want us to talk."

Gaara cocked his head slightly, confused, and Sakura drew her hand away. She pushed herself up, positioning herself so she wasn't so close to him. This was serious, and she didn't want Gaara to get distracted.

"Talk?" he asked apprehensively. _I don't like talk._

"Yeah."

"About what?" he asked quizzically.

"What do you think?" she asked, annoyed. It was stupid of her to have expected Gaara to have understood and help the conversation. She was annoyed anyway.

Gaara remained silent, watching her. She fought back her irritation. Like it was his fault he completely clueless about this kind of stuff.

"Gaara, the last time we were separated was for three months. Did that feel long to you?"

"Of course it did," he said. That was three months, _ninety_ _days_, without her, without practically any sleep.

"Well, how long do you think we're going to be apart now that I'm leaving?" Sakura asked. She didn't expect him to have a certain time, but it was more about making him think about it. Gaara wasn't what you would call a 'wistful' person, but nearly all the time during their separation he was thinking back to those few days he had spent bound with Sakura, remembering how she made it easier to sleep, brooding over how he could touch her whenever he wanted back then, how she was always _there._

"I don't know."

"It could be a very long time again. So…" Sakura hesitated, not sure how to continue. "I wanted to make sure you understood that."

"Of course I understand," he grumbled, unhappy. "What are you trying to say?"

"I was just…all the time we were apart, I kept wishing I could see you, hear from you, anything." Sakura hesitated again, then decided to just say it. "I would appreciate it if you sent…letters, or just simple messages. It would be nice," she mumbled, looking away from him. She felt ridiculous, asking Sabaku no Gaara to _write her_ _letters._

Gaara seemed to be thinking vaguely along the same lines, giving her an odd look. "Letters?" he asked finally, if only because he felt he should respond.

"Or, you know…a message of some sort…" Sakura tacked on weakly. His not even lukewarm response did not help in the least.

Wait. What the hell was she doing? She wanted this, she was going to be confident about it! The previous months she had been moody and annoyed thanks to him, and if she wanted the next few months to be different, then she would have to push for it herself.

"Yes, letters," she said firmly. "I know it's odd, but it will make me happy. Do you want me to be unhappy, Gaara?" she asked, daring him to object.

"No, of course not, but letters—?" Gaara started; surprised at her sudden 180, but she cut him off.

"No 'buts.' I don't care if you think it's weird. I'm asking you to write me letters while we're apart. Will you?"

Gaara was quiet for a moment, musing over the fact that it was only because of her careful wording that she wasn't technically 'ordering' him to do what she wanted. He saw the look in her eye and sighed, shrugging. "I wouldn't know where to start."

Deciding that meant a victory for her, Sakura smiled. "How about, 'Dear Sakura?'"

Gaara rolled his eyes, only making Sakura's smile widen. "Anything else you want to _talk _about?"

She was in a good mood, hoping that since he wasn't outright refusing to write to her it meant he would at least try, so she said jokingly, "No, that's about it…except of course for the basics…you know, no fooling around with strange women and keep your hands to yourself while I'm away…"

"Keep my hands to myself…?" Gaara asked, raising an eyebrow. "No fooling around…?"

Sakura hesitated for a second, afraid that she had made him angry, but then she saw look on his face. He was annoyed, but not angry.

"You can't be serious," he said, eyes narrowing slightly.

"It was a joke, Gaara," she said quickly, nervous about the way he was watching her, waiting for a response. "Of course I'm not worried that you would do anything like that."

"Good," he said, and took her arm, moving closer to her. His voice was quiet as he spoke. "Because I have barely even looked at other woman since you've left."

"Oh?" Sakura said, unsure if he expected her to say anything. She was still wondering over the fact he had referred to her as a 'woman', because for some reason that word made her heart speed up.

"And since you didn't expect me to do that, then that means you probably haven't either," he added.

"Gaara, I would never—" she began, insulted, but he cut her off with a shake of his head.

"Not you—other men. I've seen the way some of them look at you."

She held back a snort. "Gaara, no one looks at me the way you're talking about."

"Yes they do. You just don't notice." He leaned in and kissed her, harder than usual. "Naruto used to, for instance."

"Not anymore," Sakura said, feeling Gaara's hands slide up her back.

"Not anymore," Gaara agreed. "And good thing he doesn't." He kissed her again, this time pressing her into the mattress. "Others do, though."

"Who?" she asked thickly, her heart speeding up as his touch became a little rougher, his mouth more demanding. She didn't know if she was nervous or not, but she thought she liked this—he was jealous. She thought it was a little strange for her to take pleasure out of that, but then he was kissing her again and she didn't bother to worry about it.

"Men that aren't me," he said, "and I don't like it."

"I can handle myself," she muttered against his skin in slight protest, desperately trying to keep the conversation going.

"I know—and that's the only thing that keeps me from putting those certain men through a wall." And with that, Gaara decided that was to be the end of talking and firmly pressed his mouth to hers, prevented her from doing anything besides kissing him back.

Sakura gave up on talking, realizing that would be her last chance to share a moment like this with Gaara for who knows how long.

--

Sakura finished putting her things into her pack and shrugged it on. Temari knocked on the door and stuck her head in. "Gaara said that you were leaving already."

"Yeah. Tsunade's been called away, so we've got to go with her."

"Gaara seemed pretty grumpy when he left. Did something happen?"

Sakura fought her blush. "No…he's probably just annoyed that I'm leaving so early." They had left on pretty good terms, actually. Sakura had finally stopped their little…moment, saying that she really needed to get ready. Gaara wasn't happy, but let her go. He left to go his office, but said he would say goodbye later.

Temari frowned. "I hope you get to see each other again soon. These last three months haven't been exactly fun with Gaara in one of his moods the whole time."

"I'm going to miss him," Sakura said quietly.

Temari looked down at her feet. "I guess I should probably tell you…Gaara isn't allowed to take missions anymore, because of what happened last time."

"Last time?" Sakura asked.

"How he was gone for so long, and the attacks on the Suna ninjas."

Sakura frowned. She actually hadn't thought that Gaara might visit her on a mission, but now that the idea had just presented itself, just to be crushed, wasn't the most lightening thing. Finally she said, "I should go meet up with Tsunade."

"Want me to go with you?" Temari asked hesitantly.

"Sure, I would like that."

--

As the two girls walked down the streets of Suna, slightly subdued, Temari felt determined to cheer Sakura up. Knowing that the market was on the way, she insisted that Sakura get some souvenirs.

"Seriously?" Sakura asked. "I don't think that I need anything…"

Temari grinned, taking her hand and pulling her into the throng of people when the market came into view. "You don't need to buy anything as a necessity, just get something because you like it, or think it's cute."

Sakura glanced at the nearest table, seeing it was covered in glittering jewelry. "Temari, I didn't bring much money when I left…and Gaara said they'll try to trick me into paying too much."

She smirked. "Not with me standing right next to you. And if you don't have enough money, I'll pay for it."

"I couldn't—"

"Get something," Temari said firmly, spinning her around to the tables and pushing her forward.

They wandered around for a few minuets, Sakura not sure what to get. There were some exquisite looking sweets, but those would be impractical to bring along. There were adorable toys and stuffed animals, but what would she do with them? There were plenty of stalls devoted to clothes, light and flowing things made for the desert, but she wouldn't need them. Temari was surprisingly patient, pointing out things she might like and telling her when things were made shoddily.

Sakura, afraid that Temari would start to get annoyed soon, spotted a stall devoted to books, papers, and all sorts of writing things. Remembering what she and Gaara had talked about before, she walked over. There were plenty of stationary set up in neat piles, some just different colors, others with pretty pictures made into the background, others had embossed letters on them that looked so delicate Sakura couldn't help but run her fingers over them.

Sakura glanced over all the types, trying to find one that didn't have poka-dots or something girly on them, she wanted something that Gaara would actually look at and not just toss into the trash without opening it.

The woman watching over the stall smirked when she saw how interested Sakura looked, but that smiled died as she saw Temari, the Kazekage's sister, standing at her side. "Sakura, you seriously want to buy _paper?_" she asked quizzically.

Sakura shrugged and kept looking. "I made Gaara promise to write to me, and I want him to know I'm serious. I might as well give him a reminder for it."

"You think buying him stationary will help with that?"

Sakura looked at her. "I doubt throwing a stack of blank paper on his desk is going to have much of an effect, so I might as well try this."

Spotting a stack with a simple, non-feminine ribbon design along the top and side of the paper, Sakura grabbed it. "This is better than nothing," she muttered, and looked up at the woman minding the table.

With a quick, irritated glance at Temari, the woman gave her a surprisingly good price and watched the two of them walk away, scowling. Temari glanced at the paper in Sakura's hands. "You know, I said for you to get a souvenir, not a gift for my brother. Get something for yourself, or else I'll get something for you," she threatened lightly.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine." Looking around, she saw a table with some bottles on it. Walking closer, Sakura saw they were perfumes. Taking a quick whiff of some of them, Sakura choose a subtle one (she really only picked it because she liked the bottle), and held it up for Temari to see. "There, you happy?"

Temari frowned at her as she paid for it. "You were supposed to get something because you wanted to, not because you felt like you had to."

Sakura shrugged and they continued to walk towards the council building. As they walked into the lobby and the secretary began to greet them, the Hokage and Shizune were just walking down the stairs.

"Tsunade! Can you tell me why we're going back to the village so soon?" Sakura asked.

The older woman scowled. "Someone broke into my office and messed it up. I need to get back as soon as possible to take log of anything that's missing, and if we have a serious problem. Though I wouldn't be surprised if it was just some stupid prank," she growled, looking angry.

Sakura shot a glance at Shizune. She shrugged. "Some kids in training at the academy have been testing out their new skills, and before we left we had quiet a few incidents when they got into some trouble. But if it was them that broke into Tsunade's office, they've gone way over the line. We have to make sure they didn't find any secret scrolls or village secrets that they aren't supposed to know."

"The children in training here would never dare such a thing," Temari said, not realizing that she might be insulting the leaf ninja. "Their training must not be strict enough."

Sakura bit her lip, afraid that Tsunade would take offence at that, but her sensei merely smiled grimly. "Trust me, if it was them, they won't _ever _think of doing it again. Interrupting a meeting between Kage's…" she growled, muttering darkly under her breath.

Sakura saw something blue out of the corner of her eye and turned, watching as Gaara descended the stairs. The secretary saw him to and jumped out of her chair, bowing. "Kazekage-sama! Come to see the visitors off?"

Gaara merely nodded, hardly sparing a glanced at her. He strode over to Tsunade, who held out her hand. They shook hands, and at that moment Sakura could see Gaara truly as the Kazekage for the first time, serious and dignified. "I'm unhappy to see you go so soon, Hokage. We must meet again soon to sort out what didn't manage to finish here."

Tsunade nodded stiffly. "Same here. I'm greatly embarrassed to have to be called back to my village, who apparently can't handle their own security for a few weeks without me."

"Perhaps next time I should travel to Konoha next time…?" Gaara said, his mind vaguely thinking of Sakura.

"That would probably be for the best," Tsunade sighed. "We'll be taking our leave then."

"Goodbye, Kazekage-sama," Shizune said, bowing. Gaara inclined his head, then turned his gaze over to Sakura.

She felt herself blush slightly, and bowed also. "I…look forward to seeing you soon."

Gaara frowned, annoyed about how that was all she said. But then he figured that she was probably acting like that because there was other people around, recalling how she had reacted when Shizune had seen them kissing. "So do I," he said, watching her intensely.

Sakura felt like he was trying to burn her into his memory, that this sight of her was going to have to last him a long time. She smiled at him, trying to tell herself that they wouldn't be far apart for too long.

Then Tsunade was turning around, motioning for them to follow her. With a quick smile at Temari, Sakura returned her gaze to Gaara. She felt like she say something important, something that sounded…special, but nothing came to mind. "I'll miss you," she said quickly, then hurried out the door.

Gaara watched her go, undecided about his feelings. He half wanted to grab her by the shirt and drag her back, refusing to let her leave, but the practical—and rather annoying—part of him told him that Sakura would not like that at all, and that it was for the best that she went. It wouldn't do any good for the Kazekage to kidnap a leaf ninja while she was on a political visit.

Temari pulled his attention away from Sakura as she said, "Sakura wanted me to give this to you."

"What is it?" he asked, glancing at her.

Temari grinned. "Stationary."

"Of course," he said, fighting the smirk on his face.

--

Sakura turned around just as they walked through the gates, having mixed feelings. She forced a smile as the guards waved them by with polite bows and wishing them a safe trip, but her mind was elsewhere.

When they settled down for the night, Sakura sat at the fire, feeling Shizune's eyes on her. Tsunade had already retreated to her tent, still in a mood.

"How are you feeling?" Shizune asked.

Sakura shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not happy about leaving, but I felt strange while I was there. I didn't have anything to do and was out of place. At least at Konoha I'll know what I'm supposed to do."

Shizune hesitated. "And what about the Kazekage?"

Sakura sighed. "I'll survive. If this strange relationship is going to work out, then I'll have to learn to be patient, and that's what I plan to do."

"Are you excited about going home?"

Sakura gave her a look. "I'm just hoping that Ino didn't kill my cat."

--

Gaara left the office, though there wasn't really much of a point to it. He doubted he would be able to fall asleep now that Sakura wasn't going to be there to hold, but he might as well try. At the very least, hopefully the sheets would still smell like her...

He had had enough of Izumi hovering over him, wondering over his strange mood. The previous day, he had been almost happy, pleased—or at least that's what his advisor said, but today the old man had picked up on his subdued and irritated atmosphere. He had tried once to question about it, but after a sharp glare he quickly closed his mouth and quickly busied himself with some random papers he found on his desk.

Gaara walked through the doorway to his home, glancing at the counter as he walked by. If Sakura had still been here, there would have been a nice dinner laid out for him, but needless to say it was bare. Grumbling, he walked up the stairs, hesitating when he passed the guestroom. Sakura might have forgotten something.

He opened the door and clicked on the light, something purple catching his eye on the floor in the corner. He walked over and picked it up, curious.

Though Gaara was sure he had never blushed in his life, he felt his face heat up slightly as he looked at the garment in his hand—a tiny, revealing silk nightie was in his hand. He coughed as he noticed the see-through black lace that edged the hem and made the straps, his mind immediately jumping to the image of Sakura sliding it on.

He ran a hand over his mouth as he considered the piece of skimpy clothing, wonder just what it had been doing in Sakura's possessions—and why on earth she hadn't worn it in front of him. Shaking his head and walking into his room, the image in his mind changed from Sakura sliding it on, to her sliding it off.

Gaara shook his head—if he kept that up, then he definitely wouldn't be able to get any sleep. But then again, it wasn't like he was feeling particularly sleepy at the moment…

--

**I couldn't help myself, that little idea has been stuck in my head for so long, I just had to write it out. And I want to change the focus of the story from just Sakura and Gaara's relationship to a more physical, intimate feeling.**

**I said that I was planning on making this chapter longer than the others, but somehow that didn't really happen. Sure, it's technically 'longer', but not that much happened in it to progress the plot. I don't know how I managed to do that. I guess I just get too focused on things that don't have much to do with the plot…like her random shopping trip. I probably could have left that out, but now it's already written and I can't bring myself to add more, because it felt like it should have ended there…**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter nine, finally finished

**Chapter nine, finally finished! Like I say every time—this took too long to write, but it's out now.**

--

With a sigh, Sakura walked into her apartment. The trip from Suna to Konoha had taken less time than the one to Suna, mostly because of Tsunade's furious pace. When they had finally sighted the village gates, Tsunade hadn't even said goodbye, she had just rushed off in the direction of the Hokage tower. Sakura pitied whoever got in Tsunade's way.

She was surprised to see Ino in her front room—on her hands and knees, trying to reach something under the couch. "Come on, come on," she coaxed. "Come here…" she said, reaching farther under the couch, wriggling her butt just slightly.

Sakura couldn't help but laugh, making Ino whirl around. After seeing it was Sakura, she scowled. "You scared me!"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Why is my cat hiding under the couch? Did you do anything?"

"I accidentally stepped on her tail…and now she won't come out."

Sakura sighed and kneeled down. "Kit…come on, Kit. I'm here now."

Hearing Sakura's voice, the cat squirmed out from under the couch, meowing loudly. "Here, it's okay."

Ino watched her, frowning. "I guess I'm just not a cat person," she grumbled. Sakura just smiled and rubbed her cat's head. Ino stood and dusted her knees off, huffing. Her eyes fell on Sakura's pack and she held back a smirk. "So, uh…how'd your visit go? Was Gaara happy to see you?"

Sakura looked up from the cat to look Ino in the face. "You mean, was he happy to see me in the lingerie you bought me?"

Ino shrugged, her smile slightly mischievous.

"Well, I wouldn't know, because I didn't even try it on, never mind let him see me in it," Sakura said matter-of-factly.

"What?" Ino squawked. "Do you have any idea how expensive that was? I was trying to be nice—"

"Nice?" Sakura questioned. "You were encouraging me to sleep with a guy who I hadn't seen in three months!"

"Well, maybe not sleep with him," Ino hedged. "Just, you, to heat things up."

"You say tomato, I say disgusting friend behavior."

Ino rolled her eyes. "Fine. If you're not going to wear it, at least give it back to me so I can."

Not letting herself think of just what Ino was going to use it for, Sakura shrugged off her pack and pulled the top open. She rifled through it, then frowned. "I…I must have forgotten to pack it…" she muttered.

"So all my money was wasted? Oh great. Now it's all the way in Suna!"

"Oh no." Sakura blinked. That meant Gaara had probably seen it. "Great…"

Ino frowned at her expression, then caught on. "Oh. _Oh," _she laughed. "He probably thinks you left it just for him…good seducing technique, Sakura. You may lose your virginity yet."

Sakura turned bright red. "How is it that a pervert like you is my friend?"

"Because otherwise you'd have no fun at all in your life," Ino said simply.

Sakura snorted.

Glaring at her, Ino retorted, "Very ladylike, Sakura."

Sakura rolled her eyes and stood up, holding the cat. To change the subject she asked, "So what has been going on while I've been gone?"

"Nothing much, just normal things. Chouji caught a cold. Naruto's gone off with that old pervert again. That's about it."

"You didn't hear about the thing with the Hokage's office?" Sakura asked, surprised. She thought it would have been big news around the village.

"Huh? The Hokage's office?" Ino asked, clueless. "Did something happen?"

Sakura blinked. Maybe it had been hushed up. It would have made sense not to let the rumor that the Hokage's office had been raided, to keep the people from worrying. Trying to cover her blunder, Sakura said, "No, never mind. I'm just rambling."

Ino narrowed her eyes. "Something must have happened—I thought you had come back early!" Sakura was afraid that Ino would continue to pry, but Ino kept talking. "How many days did you get to spend with Gaara?"

"Three days."

"That's it?" Ino demanded. "Well, no wonder you didn't try out my little gift. Only _three_ days?" she asked again.

Sakura shrugged, feeling awkward. "Yeah. Well, really two days and two nights."

"How are you guys going to get anywhere if you don't have time alone?" Ino huffed. "I mean, really!"

Deciding not to think about what Ino and in mind when she said 'get anywhere,' she cocked her head at her friend's intense interest in her relationship. "Oh, Ino, are you and that civilian guy not together anymore?"

Ino's face flushed slightly, but she merely waved her hand. "He wasn't worth my time. He turned out to be pretty dull anyway, not too smart. I can't stand stupid men."

"Is this why you're trying to be so involved with me and Gaara?" Sakura asked carefully.

Ino shook her head. "No, I really just want to see you with someone. Excuse me for being a good friend," she said dramatically, letting Sakura know she wasn't offended.

Sakura laughed. "Alright, so let's talk about you for a while. Who've you got you're eye on?"

Ino scowled. "Sakura, I just dumped my boyfriend. I'm not going to immediately jump to some new guy."

"Oh?" Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Ino, your last three relationships have ended because you decided you liked someone else. You're telling me this is different?"

"Yes, I am," Ino said, getting a little defensive. "I decided that I want to start training harder—focus on my missions for now. I don't need a guy to distract me from that."

Sakura almost laughed, but the tone of voice Ino was using made Sakura think that there was something going on that she couldn't see. She didn't press the issue, and instead asked her if she wanted to do something with her once she had finished unpacking.

--

As the day winded down and the sky began to get dark, the two friends ended up walking to the ramen stall, laden with bags (mostly with things for Ino). They were greeted by Tenten and Hinata, who both had bowls in front of them. Shikamaru and Chouji sat in the other corner, talking to each other, not noticing them. As soon as Ino spotted them she stopped, making Sakura give her a questioning look.

"I'm not hungry anymore," Ino said quietly. "I think I'm going to go home."

"Huh? But we just got here, and before you were complaining—"

"I don't feel well, I'm going home," she said firmly, and turned on her heel and walked out. Realizing that she was holding some of her bags, Sakura was about to dash after her when Tenten called her name. "Don't worry about her. Let me explain about what's going on."

Frowning, still looking at Ino's retreating back, Sakura reluctantly turned around and sat between Hinata and Tenten. "What's up with her?"

Tenten quickly glanced in the guys' direction, then looked at Sakura. In a whisper, she said in her ear, "Ino dumped her last boyfriend for Shikamaru. But when she asked out Shikamaru, he rejected her."

Sakura bit her lip in sympathy, glancing at Shikamaru. Suddenly, he looked a whole lot less of a nice guy.

"But it's gets worse than that. Ino was so surprised, she kinda got angry at him and demanded to know why he said no. Shikamaru was pretty blunt. Told her that he didn't have any interest in someone who used men like tissues and cared more about her hair and makeup than her training."

Sakura put a hand to her mouth. "He really said that? What did Ino do?"

Tenten shrugged, glancing again at Shikamaru. He and Chouji had apparently finished eating and were standing up to leave. "She didn't do anything. She just stood there, then walked away. I think being rejected—for her first time ever, mind you—really shook her."

Sakura watched as Shikamaru left, glaring into his back, her feelings mixed. Her loyalty to Ino made her angry at him, but was Shikamaru really so out of line? Sure, he had been cruel about it, but what he said had a hint of truth to it. Ino never really had a boyfriend because she thought she was in love, she just liked having one and being able to make a claim to a man. And she never did seem truly serious about her training.

That would explain what Ino had been talking about earlier, about focusing on her missions. She could have been trying to prove Shikamaru wrong—or prove to herself that what he said wasn't true.

"What'll you be having?"

Sakura blinked and looked up at the girl that helped her father in the restaurant. "Oh, um, just the usual," she said, pulling herself back to reality. The girl nodded and walked off. "Poor Ino."

Tenten shrugged. "I hate to say it, but I can't quite be sympathetic. Ino was way too surprised to find out that not every man in the world was interested in her. She needed to hear that, even if Shikamaru was a bit of a jerk about it."

"But she must feel awful," Hinata objected. "I wouldn't be able to bear it if that happened to me."

Sakura frowned. "Hinata, I thought you and Naruto were kinda, sorta already together…ish."

"We haven't…" Hinata said quietly, blushing heavily. "Really talked about…I'm not even sure if…"

And after that confusing attempt of conversation Hinata suddenly became really interested in her ramen bowl. Tenten rolled her eyes. "Nothing really has changed with them while you were gone, not that I know about," she clarified for Sakura. "Though I think Naruto knows now at least."

Sakura frowned, then started on her ramen when it was set in front of her, thinking.

Relationships were really complicated, weren't they? Sakura didn't have much experience in that field, but just looking at all the different ones she knew about completely baffled her. There was Hinata and Naruto's…well, thing, because there wasn't really enough _there _for it to be considered a relationship, then there was Ino, had had plenty of boyfriends, none that she felt extremely attached to, and then she had tried to get something going with Shikamaru, he had rejected her, even though Sakura knew plenty of men would have killed to be in his place. There was Kakashi and Anko, but Sakura didn't really know enough about what was going on between them to make a good assessment. There was also Lee, who was attracted to her, but she herself was only interested in Gaara, who had never shown any interest in the other sex until she came around.

There truly was no sense to it, was there?

Sakura wished she could have taken comfort in that, but she couldn't. She liked things that were logical, that she could study in understand—but she honestly didn't have a clue about what was going on between her and Gaara. All the terms she tried to apply to it didn't fit—it was more that 'like,' it was different than 'caring,' she highly doubted it was 'lust' (on her part anyway…Gaara's motives sometimes were questionable), and Sakura couldn't even make her consider that 'oh so special four letter word'.

They didn't do what so called 'normal' couples did. They didn't go out on dates, they didn't celebrate anniversaries, they didn't call each boyfriend/girlfriend, because it would just seem weird. Then again, most of that could probably put the blame on the fact they hadn't truly been together that long—about a week bound together, three months separation, and then only a three day reunion.

That in itself was aggravating. How was Sakura supposed to figure out what the hell she (and Gaara) were doing if they rarely got to see each other?

"Sakura? You're zoning out a bit there," Tenten remarked.

"Huh?" Sakura snapped back. "Was I?"

"Yeah…what were you thinking about? You didn't look very happy."

"I was just thinking too much," _again, _Sakura added silently. Dully she wished that the next time she was with Gaara she could just turn off her brain for a few moments, to just let her body do what it wanted.

Wait, no, that would probably be pretty bad. Especially if Gaara was the one leading. How many times had she told herself that now? Two? Three? What made Gaara so un-trustable in situations like that? He hadn't really done anything to prove her completely right…or wrong, for that matter…

"You're doing it again!" Tenten said.

"Sorry, sorry," Sakura mumbled, shaking her head.

--

Gaara sat at his desk, staring dully at a part of the wall in front of him. He was glad that he hadn't gotten a swiveling chair for his office, otherwise he would probably be twirling around on the seat without even noticing, and looking quite silly if someone walked in. His fingers tapped against the desktop, his other hand propping up his head.

There was a lull in the paperwork he had to do, which was very rare, so Gaara wasn't sure what to do with himself. His eyes strayed from the wall to his desk, first watching his fingers, but then losing interest and his gaze drifted off to the side, falling on a pile of stationary on the corner of his desk.

It looked so innocent and tempting it ticked Gaara off, forcing himself to look away from it.

It had been a week since Sakura had left, and surprisingly Gaara wasn't in that bad of a mood. He'd been able to sleep in his bed of late, mainly because it still faintly smelt like her.

His gaze wandered around, but found nothing of interest. Again it was drawn to the stationary, which had sat there untouched the entire time it had been in his office.

Gaara looked away again, getting irritated. Where was his advisor? He always had something that Gaara had to sign, look over, accept, or give the go ahead for. What on earth could he be doing?

Again Gaara found himself looking at the pile.

He growled and stood, walking out of the room. It had only been a week; he didn't need to write to her yet. He did not, repeat, _not _actually _want _to write to her. The idea was ridiculous. (Gaara happily ignored the fact it had been his idea.)

He looked around the hallway, but there was no advisor. Izumi was no where to be seen. Scowling, Gaara walked over to the room the old man had commandeered as his filing room, but he wasn't in there either.

Maybe he had gone out to eat and was in the lobby. Gaara stomped down the stairs, but still no advisor.

His secretary, however, was staring at him. It was very rare to see him leave his office, never mind come downstairs for something. Maybe he needed something from her?

"Kazekage-sama, may I be of assistance?" Kimi asked, hoping that he would actually need her for something. She would be positively ecstatic to be able to say she had helped the Kazekage.

Gaara glanced at her. Why did he always forget that he had a secretary? This girl always seemed to be popping out of nowhere lately. "Where's Izumi?" he asked.

Kimi blinked. "Sir, he's at his granddaughter's wedding. He asked for your permission to go weeks ago."

"Oh." Gaara vaguely remembered the old man reminding him about something like a day off…this was probably it. "Well then."

"Did you need him for something? Might I be able to take care of it for you?" she asked.

Gaara shook his head. Best not to let his employees know that he was bored out of his mind with nothing to do—it would ruin the whole aloof, dignified image of being Kazekage (because yes, Gaara did occasionally care about what people thought about him…just not often).

"No, that's alright. I'll just go to work," he said, and turned around, going back up the stairs.

Kimi watched him go, biting her lip. She wished that he wouldn't be so short with her. Why did he never want to talk with her? Pouting, she went back to work.

--

Gaara glared at the stationary as he stalked back over to his desk. It would have probably been much more satisfying if the paper could glare back, and not just sit there looking so innocent.

He scowled, picking up a pen. He still didn't reach for a piece of stationary, though, just sat there, tapping his pen furiously against the desk as he continued to stare the paper down.

If he delayed long enough, surely he would think of something else to do.

--

A few hours later Kimi knocked nervously on his office door, having just found a note from Izumi.

"Come in," Gaara said gruffly.

Kimi hesitantly walked in—this was her first time entering his office. "Um, Kazekage-sama, I just…" she hesitated, seeing that he was currently staring at small stack of papers on his desk as if wishing it would burst into flame.

When she ceased speaking, Gaara flicked his gaze up, looking at her expectantly.

"Oh! Right. I just found this note for Izumi, it looked like he had just written it as an afterthought before leaving for his trip—it got lost along some of the filing."

"Well, bring it here," Gaara said, leaning back in his chair.

Kimi hesitated, a little intimidated, then she quickly scurried across the room to his desk to hand him the note. "It says that there is a large file from the Snow Country that he would like you to go through…I have it here…" she pulled a very thick and heavy file out from under her arm, bulging with lose papers and small notice papers in all kinds of colors. When she dropped it on the desk, it made a heavy thud that rattled the pens on his desk.

Gaara smirked ironically. Of course, _now _he finds something to do. And that file looked like it would take hours to take care off. "Alright, you can go now," he said tiredly.

Kimi frowned. "Is there anything you would like me to get you? Coffee, maybe?"

"No, go back to what you were doing."

"Yes, Kazekage," Kimi bowed her head and hurried out.

Gaara sighed and glanced behind his desk. The wastebasket sitting by his chair was overflowing with crumpled up paper (most of them having words scribbled out, others plain blank that had been tossed out just in aggravation), and he had no letter to show for it. Looks like he would have to do that later.

--

"Ack!"

Sakura threw her foot to the side to avoid stepping on her cat and tripped on a loose carpet, falling onto the floor. Sakura glared at her cat as it darted away, getting to her knees and gather up all the papers that had scattered when she fell. "This is why you shouldn't be climbing on the tables!" Sakura called after Kit.

The second Kit had seen Sakura walking into the room, it had jumped off the counter top—right under Sakura's feet.

Still grumbling about her cat's stupidity, Sakura stood and set the papers on the counter. Some was mail, others some files the Hokage had given her to look over (some to help with her training, others to help with Tsunade's work load—Shizune couldn't do it all by herself). Flipping through some of them, she came across a simple envelope with her name on it—_from Suna._

Blinking in surprise, Sakura quickly opened it, pulling out a single piece of letter.

"_Sakura, I'll be coming to Konoha soon. I should arrive within two weeks."_

Sakura frowned. That was it? She knew Gaara was a man of few words, but she didn't know he was like that literately on paper. Her eyes fell on the last line, scrawled messily at the very bottom of the paper, as if written at the last second, almost hoping she wouldn't see it.

_"I miss you, and am looking forward to seeing you."_

A small smile tugged at her lips. That line said a lot to Sakura, and she hoped that Gaara had intended her to see that. "I look forward to seeing you too, Gaara," Sakura murmured.

--

**I tried to write a bit of a 'mini-plot' in this chapter, with the Ino/Shikamaru thing. It had been bugging me lately, because I've been wanting to write a fanfic about a relationship between her and Shikamaru…along with Temari (yes, I love a good cat-fight). I didn't want to take time off this to start another, but the idea won't go away! So hopefully I'll be able to get that annoying urge out by adding a little bit of that in here. (Yeah, I know, I'll probably end up writing the annoying fic anyway.)**


	10. Chapter 10

It's been so long since my last update, I decided to end my chapter before I was originally planning so I could give this to you guys

**It's been so long since my last update, I decided to end my chapter before I was originally planning so I could give this to you guys. Enjoy.**

--

Sakura hated to admit it, but she was excited and a little anxious for the next few weeks. When she mentioned it to Ino, she had laughed and said, "What's wrong with being excited? Of course you're looking forward to this! You're going to get to see Gaara again." But then Ino had quietly mumbled something about picking her out new lingerie and the conversation quickly ended as Sakura hurriedly excused herself.

Heading to the Hokage tower, Sakura didn't really pay much attention to what she was doing and let her thoughts wander around in her head. Ino obviously was teasing her, right? And was that thing with her and Shikamaru just going to blow over, or would Ino hold a grudge? Would she act like nothing happened…?

Realizing that she had reached the Hokage tower, Sakura put aside her friend's problems and climbed up to Tsunade's office. Letting herself in, Sakura said, "You told me to meet you at this time?"

Tsunade nodded and put aside a folder she had been going over. "The Kazekage and his escorts are expected to arrive tomorrow; I thought you would like to know."

Sakura cocked her head. She was happy, but Tsunade was acting strange. "You…had me come all the way here just to tell me that? Couldn't you have just sent someone to tell me?"

Tsunade smiled. "Good. If you started to walk out the door I would have been disappointed. Sit down."

Hesitant, Sakura walked over and sat. Tsunade was sounding a bit too serious.

Tsunade pulled another folder in front of her. From what Sakura could see from her side of the desk, it looked like it had been thumbed through many times. Tsunade flipped it open and looked back up at Sakura. "Now, I think you might have already heard of this, but Suna and Konoha have been going over ways to strengthen our alliance, and to show over villages our alliance is serious, not just on paper. Once of the things the Kazekage and I are going to talk about while he's here is an ambassador program."

Sakura frowned. Hadn't Temari mentioned that to her?

Tsunade hesitated before speaking again. "I've been thinking over appropriate candidates for that…and you've probably already figured out that I'm thinking about you for the position."

Sakura remained silent, she could tell Tsunade wasn't finished talking. She seemed slightly reluctant to continue speaking. "I…am not sure if I want to choose you. I think that it would set a bad precedent if I choose you and people find out your relationship with Gaara. It would seem that I chose unfairly, that I favored you because you're my apprentice and I was 'rewarding' you.

"But on the other hand, if I do send my own student, it could also look good—that I was making quite a sacrifice, giving up one of my best students." (Sakura felt herself redden slightly at the praise.) "You'd also be a good candidate because of your skills; I believe you could greatly benefit Suna should you be chosen."

Tsunade sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Sakura, you would be my preferred choice, but from what I just told you, you know I'm in a delicate position. I want to know whether or not you would like to go—but before you answer, let me tell you this. If you go to Suna, I will only send you. I won't be there like last time, and neither will Shizune. It's an act of faith of the alliance to send just one person. Also, you will have to stay there for a while. Not just a few days, or weeks. You will be there minimum of a month, and then you'll probably be allowed to come back to Konoha for a short while, then sent off again. That's a long time to be away from your village, from your friends, from people you know in a big strange place."

Sakura pursed her lips, thinking it over. "I…"

Tsunade held up a hand. "Sakura. I am telling you this so you know—but I am also warning you. _Do not_," she ordered, "just choose to go because you want to be with Gaara. This is more important than a single relationship. This is extremely important business between two villages that were at war just years ago. Should you say you want to go just for Gaara, and if two get in a fight, or your relationship doesn't work out—you will have to stay. If you go just for Gaara and it flops—you will be miserable for months, and you will be all alone. Gaara is your only connection in that village. Do not depend on him—this is not a romantic get away. If you choose to take the position, you will be making a decision that could affect the relationship between the two villages. Should you have bad behavior—our village will look bad, it could even set their village on edge. You will be an example, a representative, of Konoha ninjas to the Suna village—to their own ninjas, and to their civilians. I will _not _risk putting our village's reputation on the line just so you can see your boyfriend. _Do you understand?_" Tsunade demanded.

Sakura nodded. Tsunade didn't have to tell her how important this was. This was an extreme responsibility, and Tsunade was right—she couldn't let her personal feelings get in the way. To buy herself some time to think, she asked slowly, "If I were to go…what would I be doing there? What would my responsibilities be?"

"You would be expected to help at their hospital—despite Suna's recent growth, their medical technology hasn't been advance on much. You would do what the Kazekage asked you, and listen to orders of the higher ups on their Council. You wouldn't be sent on missions though—you would be to stay in the public eye and help the community so the people can learn about their ally."

Sakura nodded again, looking down at her lap. As she thought, she had to force the idea of being able to see Gaara every day out of her head. This wasn't about him. Could she handle the responsibility? She thought so. Could she handle having so many people watching her? Probably, though she couldn't say for sure because she'd never been in such a position. Could she handle the work? Sakura wouldn't know—Tsunade didn't really explain what exactly she would need to do at the hospital—but she was definitely willing to try.

Again the thought of Gaara entered her mind, but Sakura forced that thought out. This was serious. It was for Suna and Konoha—not her own interests.

Sakura took a deep breath. Did she want the position?

Yes, she did.

Sakura stood. Tsunade watched her, silent. "I want this. I want to be the Konoha ambassador. And—and I wish I could say otherwise, but I can't promise that my involvement with Gaara won't change my feelings or interest in this. But I will promise that I will stay in Suna for however long you ask me to, and I will act the way an ambassador is expected to. I _won't _let my relationship with Gaara get in the way of my being a representative for my village."

Tsunade gave her a small smile. "I expected as much. I'll admit I'm not happy about my favorite student leaving—but you are the best candidate. Prove to me that my faith in you isn't wrong."

Tsunade also stood. "When the Kazekage gets here, he's expected to stay here for at least a week—we're having other leaders coming here also. Not kages, but still high heads. I might require you to come here for a few meetings so they see you and such, but the talks might take a while. You shouldn't have to leave until a week and a half, maybe longer. You are dismissed…I have a lot of paper work to do now that you've accepted the position."

Sakura turned to leave, then hesitated. "May I ask who were the other people you were considering?"

Tsunade shrugged. "I had to consider people I knew would do well in such a position. I considered Neji, but I was worried that he might seem cold and detached to the Suna people. I considered his cousin, Hinata, also, but she might seem too quiet and shy." She paused for a moment. "If you had turned this down, I would have gone to Shikamaru. He's high rank, proven himself skilled, careful—he wouldn't have embarrassed the village."

Sakura couldn't stop herself. "Why did you come to me first?"

"It wasn't because I favored you, if that's what you're thinking. It was strictly based on your skill in medicine—you would be able to profit Suna more than Shikamaru."

"Oh…still thank you."

Tsunade rolled her eyes and fought a smile as Sakura walked out the door.

--

Gaara had to keep himself from smiling when he saw the gate—he didn't want to alarm his companions. Temari didn't seem to care though and asked, "You happy to be here finally?"

Gaara shrugged, playing it off.

Kankuro clapped his sister on the shoulder, covering a yawn with his hand. "I know I can say I'm happy to finally be able to rest my feet. Think we'll be able to get rooms this late at night?" he asked, nodding to the pitch black sky.

Temari mimicked Gaara, shrugging also. "I'm sure some of them stay open for stragglers all night. And would it be so awful to spend _one _more nightout here, you big bad ninja, you?" she mocked.

"Oh, be quiet," Kankuro threatened.

"Or what?" Temari shot back, but not seriously. Gaara had already begun to leave them and the rest of the group behind, so she hurried after him. "Gaara," she asked when she finally caught up with him, "what are you going to do? Are you going to come to an inn with us?"

Gaara looked at her. "I thought it would be obvious about where I'm going, since it's too late to report to the Hokage."

Temari frowned. "Sakura's bound to be asleep at this time. She probably won't like it if you wake her up in the dead of night, you know."

"Then I won't wake her up," he said simply, and slipped off down one of the alleys. Temari scowled after him.

"Where's he going?" Kankuro asked. "Shouldn't he stay with us?"

Temari rolled her eyes. "He just can't _bear _being away from his dear sweet cherry blossom," Temari said dramatically, inwardly irritated. She knew that if some guy had just walked into her room during the dead of night, boyfriend or not, she would brain him.

Gaara had no trouble at all recalling the way to Sakura's apartment, then quickly scaled up onto the opposite building. Happy to see her window was cracked, Gaara leapt over (making a mental note to tell Sakura about her poor security) and let himself in, dropping into her bedroom.

Looking over, he saw Sakura curled up peacefully in bed, sleeping. Though in the back of his mind he was seriously alarmed by her lack of defenses (he was a man who had just _climbed through her window, _and she had noticed absolutely nothing—what did Konoha teach their ninjas? Honestly. Any ninja from Suna would be up and alert, having sensed his chakra in their _sleep—_), Gaara was just happy to see her, though he wasn't sure if he liked admitting that.

Doing his best to be quiet, Gaara slid off his gourd and dropped his bag, setting them both in the corner. After his shoes and shirt joined them, Gaara carefully pulled back the blanket and slid under the covers. As he wrapped an arm around her, Sakura sighed in her sleep and rolled over so she was facing him.

Gaara smirked down at her. It was as if they hadn't missed a beat. Sighing, he closed his eyes.

He had really, _really _missed this.

Pulling Sakura closer to him, he buried his face in her hair and let himself fall into sleep.

--

**Ack! It's so short, but it had been a while since my last update. (Stupid school.) So much for saying I would make my chapters longer. Anyway, you know the drill, please read and review.**


	11. Chapter 11

Yay

**Yay! I enjoyed writing this chapter, and I felt like it didn't take long (though, you might argue that.) So…read on and enjoy.**

--

Gaara picked his head up, blinking fuzzily as he tried to clear his head. He first looked down at Sakura, who had herself curled up against him, face tucked into his chest. He felt a smile cross his face and put his head down, settling it right next to Sakura's.

His movements made Sakura stir, and she woke up slowly. After a moment, she registered the fact someone was in her bed—and she reacted in the blink of an eye.

Gaara's eyes flew open as Sakura was suddenly on top of him, hand at his throat. He immediately tried to sit up, moving to push her off him, and the two of them tumbled out of bed, Gaara somehow on the bottom, with Sakura's hand still latched onto his throat.

Sakura tossed her hair out of her face as she scowled down at her intruder—and was extremely surprised to see Gaara glaring at her. "Huh?"

"Happy to see you too," he said in a growl, voice a little tight from her hand.

Sakura wiped her hand away, staring down at him. "Gaara? What the hell are you doing?"

Unable to get up (Sakura was sitting on his chest, his legs had somehow managed to stay up on the bed), he lay there, glaring up at her. "Could you get off?"

She quickly took notice of their positions and hurriedly got up. Gaara ignored her offered hand and stood, rubbing his throat. Sakura winced and looked away. "Sorry," she mumbled.

Gaara coughed and shook his head. "I'm fine. At least know I know you're not totally defensive."

"Huh?"

"You didn't wake up when I came in last night—haven't you been trained to sense chakra? I thought all ninjas were taught that when they were still in the academy."

Sakura drew herself up, not appreciating how he was hinting that her training hadn't been adequate. "Of course I was. I was taught how to sense chakra, even in my sleep."

"Then why—"

"My mind doesn't perceive you as a threat," Sakura told him. Gaara opened his mouth to object, but Sakura continued. "I wouldn't react if Naruto was around me while I sleep, or Kakashi, or Ino. It helps on missions, if we're taking look-out shifts. If I couldn't sleep because I could sense my own teammates' chakra, then I would be too tired to fight."

Gaara scowled. "You don't take me as a threat?" he asked, not sure how he felt about that.

"I guess not," she said simply, looking around and noticing his things set down in the corner of her room. "You're early," she added. "I thought you were supposed to arrive this afternoon."

Gaara shrugged. "We got here around midnight last night, so I thought it would be best if I came here first."

Sakura frowned, "Gaara? How did you get in, if it was that late?"

"I climbed through your window."

Sakura stared at him. How could he say that like it was something he did all the time? Putting a hand to her face, Sakura walked out of her bedroom into the kitchen, Gaara trailing behind her.

"What is it?" he asked.

Sakura rolled her eyes, rifling through the drawers in the kitchen. "Gaara, I'd rather not have you jump through my window every time you're here."

"Well, I doubt I'll have to do that again, now that you know I'm here."

"But still…" she continued searching, smiled in triumph. "Here," she said, pulling it out and holding it out to Gaara.

"What is it?"

"It's a key to my apartment," she said as Gaara took it from her. "In case I'm not around. I trust you enough not to mess up my apartment."

"Oh. Thanks."

Sakura closed the drawer, suddenly feeling embarrassed. People always made it seem that giving a key to someone was always a big step in their relationship, but Gaara didn't really seem to notice.

_Oh well—this was Gaara, _she told herself, rolling her eyes. _What was I expecting?_

--

Not long afterward, Sakura and Gaara walked together to the Hokage Tower. On the way, they bumped into the rest of Gaara's escort—Temari and Kankuro, obviously, and three other ninjas that Sakura hadn't seen before. They spared Sakura curious glances but otherwise stayed silent. Together the group walked to the Hokage Tower.

"Come in," Tsunade called after hearing a knock on her door. As all seven of them walked in, the woman looked momentarily surprised to see so many, but then stood and walked over to Gaara, shaking his hand. "Kazekage, it's good to see you. Has all been well?"

The group exchanged polite greetings, and Sakura noticed Shikamaru standing off in the corner, looking uncomfortable and out of place. She tried to catch his eye questioningly, but he was determinedly staring at a spot in his shoe.

Sakura hesitantly wandered toward the door. She didn't think that she was needed, but when Tsunade saw that she was about to leave she called to her, "Sakura, don't be going anywhere just yet. I have some things to talk to the Kazekage about you." Gaara glanced at her, then back at Tsunade curiously.

The older woman walked back to her seat on the opposite side of the desk and motioned for Gaara to do the same. Tsunade quickly shuffled around and pulled the same folder that she had been looking at while talking to Sakura about her ambassador position.

"Kazekage, have you chosen your representative for the ambassador program yet?" she asked.

Gaara nodded, and with a quick look at his sister Temari walked up, holding a similar folder. She handed it to him and stood behind his chair as Gaara opened it. "I have chosen Temari, my sister, to be the ambassador of Suna." Sakura saw Shikamaru grimace and turn his gaze to the blonde.

Tsunade accepted the offer with a nod. "Miss Temari, we'll be very happy to have you here. We hope that you will find Konoha like a second home here. To make you as comfortable as possible, I have designated a guide to be with you during you time here—Nara Shikamaru."

Temari had to keep her surprise off her face, flicking her eyes to Shikamaru, who was watching her unhappily. The Hokage was assigning the boy she had fought—and lost to—during the chunin exams as her guide? Temari still had slight animosity towards him for beating her—and the Hokage thought it would make her 'comfortable' to have him around?

Gaara didn't sense his sister's discomfort and asked, sounding slightly disinterested, "And Hokage, who have you chosen for your representative?"

Tsunade kept a straight face as she said, "Haruno Sakura."

Gaara blinked, and only his self discipline kept him from turning around in his chair and staring at Sakura. He quickly regained composer and nodded his head, trying to seem as if this had no affect on him at all, though the thoughts in his head were whirling around. Why had the Hokage picked Sakura?

Sakura felt stares on her and turned, blushing when she saw that Gaara's three companions, the ones she didn't know, all staring at her. She coughed and looked away.

"Alright, Sakura, Shikamaru, Temari—you are all dismissed," Tsunade announced. As the three of them turned for the door, she added, "Nara, you are to help Temari around the village. Remember what we discussed," she said, her voice a little hard. Shikamaru nodded stiffly, and all three of them left.

Sakura watched Shikamaru curiously as they descended the stairs. What had Tsunade meant by that?

She turned her gaze to Temari, who didn't look to happy about the arrangement she had just gotten herself into. "Um, Temari…"

The older girl quickly looked up with a smile. "So, Sakura. You must be really happy about being able to go to Suna with Gaara, huh?"

Seeing that she didn't want to talk about herself, Sakura nodded. "I guess. I was hoping that you would be there with me, though. I was looking forward to being able to talk to you."

"Aw, you don't need me—you have Gaara."

Sakura frowned. "Tsunade said I'm not to let people know about the relationship between us—that it would set a bad precedent."

"Oh." Temari was quiet for a moment. "Well, at least you can still be together. We weren't expecting you to be chosen as the ambassador, you know. Gaara's probably psyched—well, as psyched as he can get, anyway," she added, frowning. "But you'll be great for the village."

"I hope so. This position means a lot to me." Glancing at Shikamaru, she asked, "Do I have a guide at Suna, like Shikamaru?"

Temari shrugged. "I'm not sure. Gaara didn't share anything with me, but you're probably not going to need one. I mean, what am I going to do with Shikamaru? I already know my way around this village, so I don't need him."

Shikamaru scowled slightly, but kept any comments to himself.

--

Sakura spent the rest of the day helping out at the hospital, trying to brush up on her skills so she wouldn't be rusty when she got to Suna. Once she realized what time it was, she hurried home, picking up some dinner on the way.

Since she wasn't sure what time Gaara was going to come back, Sakura decided to start eating alone, and just as she was finishing up Gaara trudged through the door.

"You look tired," she said, standing up to greet him.

"Some leaders from other lands had just arrived as Tsunade and I had decided that we would continue our discussions tomorrow, so I had to stay. It took a while to greet them all, and of course they all wanted to chat me up and ask about how I was doing…" he sighed.

Sakura smiled. This was a side of Gaara she hadn't seen before, and it amused her a bit. Gaara shook his head and looked at her, his attitude changing. "How come you didn't tell me you were going to the ambassador?" he asked accusingly.

"I kinda forgot. I was only told about it yesterday." Seeing the look in his eye, she cocked his head. "What? Are you mad?"

"No," he stated, walking closer to her. "I am very, _very, _pleased."

And then he had her in his arms, mouth on hers. Sakura sighed into the kiss, leaning into him. She had been waiting for this all day, and it was well worth the wait. She pulled on his shirt to bring him closer, teasing, "You're so pleased you could just kiss me, right?"

His only response was a deep humming noise in his throat as he kissed her again, and again, and again. Sakura felt his hands slide down her back and cupped his face, holding him there for a nice, long, deep kiss. When they broke apart, Sakura gave him a small smile. "I missed you," she whispered against his cheek as she held him close.

Gaara closed his eyes and pressed his face into her hair, enjoying the feeling of her body against his, her waist under his hands, the smell of her, how she had her arms wrapped his neck. He had been imagining this ever since she had left, and he didn't plan on releasing her anytime soon.

"Sakura," he began, and she covered his mouth with a hand.

"Don't ruin the moment," she whispered slyly, slowly removing her hand. Gaara leaned in and kissed her again, long and soft.

Sakura stood there in his arms, enjoying the moment of unusual gentleness from him.

--

Sakura took her time in the shower, making sure to use plenty of her body wash and nice smelling shampoo. Gaara was in the kitchen, eating the meal Sakura had left for him.

She turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, shivering as the cool air hit her skin. Hurriedly she toweled herself off and slipped into her pajamas. As she buttoned up the top, she wondered over how gentle Gaara had been earlier. It had been really nice, for him to just hold her like that without trying to get anything from her. Dully she knew that wouldn't last long, he would probably just revert back to his rough and slightly forceful ways soon enough—but Sakura couldn't figure out how she felt about that. Sure, she liked it when he was just holding her, but she also liked it when he was being a little more aggressive.

Sakura blushed immediately after that thought and shook her head, beet red. Geez, just what kind of girl was she?

Sighing, Sakura walked out of the bathroom and into her bedroom, trying to get those types of thoughts out of her head—and hoping Gaara wasn't thinking along the same lines, as he had just entered the room.

Sakura knew her face still must be flushed, so she hurriedly climbed under the covers, embarrassed. Gaara didn't notice and climbed in behind her, pulling her snuggly against him.

"That food was good," he murmured, sleepy.

"Thanks," she said quietly.

"I'm looking forward to you coming back to Suna with me," he mumbled, closing his eyes.

Sakura smiled. "You're just happy that you wouldn't have to write letters anymore."

"No, I'm happy that I'll be able to do this every night," he whispered, drifting off as he kissed her shoulder.

Sakura just blushed, unable to think of any witty reply. She pondered over the new discovery that Gaara was much more affectionate when he was tired, as he tightened his arm around her and buried his face into her neck. Her blush deepened and she closed her eyes, trying to go to sleep.

--

Sakura woke up with a slight jerk in the middle of the night, feeling alarmed. Wondering what had woken her up; Sakura was just about to turn around to see if maybe anyone was in her room when she froze, looking down.

Gaara's hand was firmly cupping chest.

Sakura stared down at it, her face slowly reddening, then whirled around, hand cocked back to either punch or slap him in the face. She just barely managed to stop when she saw that he was asleep.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura closed her eyes and let her hand drop. It was quite a challenge for her self-control to calm herself down. He was asleep—he didn't do it on purpose. He was _asleep; _he did_ not _do it on purpose. Sakura kept repeating that to herself as she climbed over him and got out of bed, walking out of the room. She had a feeling it wouldn't be good if she stayed in the same room with him for the moment.

For something to do, Sakura walked into the bathroom and splashed her face with a little bit of water, trying to clear her head. Her temper was cooling off quickly and she bit her lip. Why had that upset her? Gaara had…Sakura blushed. Gaara had '_felt her up'_ before (Sakura rolled her eyes at her embarrassment for even thinking that). She was upset at the thought he was trying to cop a feel while she was asleep.

_So what?_ she asked herself. _So you're okay with him 'coping a feel' when you're awake?_

Sakura pursed her lips and splashed her face again with water. Stupid inner thoughts. She didn't know what she was talking—thinking?—about. She was just tired, that was all. Yeah, that was it.

Sakura looked up and saw herself in the mirror. She couldn't help but glance down below her neck, her face red. She bit her lip. She knew, painfully, that she hadn't 'matured' much in the past few years. Her chest was practically the same from when she was kid, and she hadn't quite gotten 'shapely.' For one envious moment she thought of Hinata, and even her friend Ino. Hinata might not wear flattering clothes, but anyone with eyes in their head could see that she had definitely matured—and there was always something so _feminine _about her. And Ino—she didn't exactly have a form to rival Tsunade's, but Sakura had noticed the glances her friend got from men when she walked by.

_Oh, don't tell me you're jealous, _the back of her mind hissed. _You're being foolish._

_So what? _she countered defensively. _I—it's not like I'm moping…I'm just…_

_Wishing for things you don't have. What does it matter, anyway? Gaara likes you just fine the way you are—he showed you that just earlier._

Sakura blushed, and before she realized what she was thinking, responded, _Well—maybe I want to feel more mature. And I don't know for sure if it was even me he was dreaming about._

Blinking, Sakura stopped. That thought made her upset—and angry. She stared at herself in the mirror without truly looking at herself, surprised. She was jealous? Over the fact that Gaara _might _be dreaming about some girl that wasn't her?

_I'm thinking too much, _she sighed, putting a hand to her face. _I came out here to calm down, and all I do is get upset over the fact I'm not womanly enough and get ridiculous ideas._

Climbing over Gaara, she got back into bed. As she scooted close to him, she was ridiculously pleased with herself when he wrapped his arm around her and mumbled her name against her cheek. Rolling her eyes at her silliness, Sakura smiled and closed her eyes.

After a moment she batted his hand away when it slipped under her shirt.

--

**There! Chapter finished. I threw in a few things I wanted to get across here—how Sakura was a little unsure of what to do when Gaara wasn't being his normal rough self, the fact that Sakura's a little irked over how looks and what Gaara thinks of it, because I'm thinking over using those later in this story. But for now, just review!**


	12. Chapter 12

This is about a week late, sorry about that

**This is about a week late, sorry about that. I'll just skip grumbling all the problems this gave me so you can get some reading in.**

--

In the morning, Sakura woke with a need to use the bathroom. Carefully climbing over Gaara, who rolled over and grumbled, she slipped out the room.

Woken by her movements, Gaara scowled and opened his eyes.

There were two large eyes staring back at him.

Gaara sat up, startled, then realized what he was looking at. It was a furry, black cat.

"Sakura!" Gaara called, eyes not leaving the animal in front of him. Sakura popped her head into the room. "What on earth is _that?_" he asked, pointing at it.

"Oh, that's my cat. Her name is Kit."

"Kit," Gaara repeated, not bothering to hide his slight disgust.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Do you not like cats?"

He scowled. "I don't like animals. All they do is shed and get in the way."

Sakura pursed her lips (though, that was pretty much all Kit did). Deciding that she wasn't going to get annoyed over this, she just shook her head and left the bedroom. Gaara glared at the cat for a few more moments longer, then got dressed, grabbed his stuff, and went into the kitchen, fully aware that the cat was following him. He glared at it, trying to scare it off, but it merely met his gaze and yawned widely, flicking its tail.

As Sakura began breakfast, she mulled over an idea in her head. She had thought about bringing it up before, but had kept her mouth shut. She figured that she should broach the subject now so she wouldn't lose her nerve. Without looking at him, she asked, "Gaara, do the ninjas you brought from Suna know that you've been staying with me? I'm sure they've noticed that you aren't with Temari and Kankuro."

Gaara shrugged, uninterested. "I doubt it. They're just eager to go back home."

"But…if one of them asks Temari, or Kankuro, do you think that they'll say you've been staying with me?"

"Probably," he responded.

Sakura bit her lip and turned around. "Gaara, I think it would be best if you slept in the same inn with them for the rest of your time here."

Gaara narrowed his eyes, watching her. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm sure Tsunade has mentioned this to you. She doesn't want our relationship to be out in the public, because she's afraid it would set a bad precedent."

Gaara scowled. "She mentioned it, but I think she's being too self-conscious," he told her.

"Well, I don't. I agree with her." She ignored how his face hardened and continued. "Just so your companions don't get curious, I don't think it's a good idea for you to be spending the nights here."

"And why not? Half of the villagers back at Suna still think I'm incapable of sleep. Would it really be so strange for me not to stay in the same inn as them? I highly doubt they'll make the jump of figuring out I'm staying with you." Gaara's voice was angry, but he didn't raise his voice. If he did, Sakura would probably do the same, and he'd rather not fight with her.

Sakura frowned. "Gaara. Ifthey _did_ find out, imagine the things they would think! You spending the nights with me! I doubt they would keep it to themselves, once they got back to Suna. Do you remember the rumors that started to fly around last time about us?"

Gaara furrowed his brow. "Of course I remember those, they were too ridiculous to forget. My village is hardly as imaginative or gossip-dependent as yours." Sakura bit her cheek to keep from snapping at him for that insult to her people, she needed to stay focused. "And besides, I'm the Kazekage. I run that village."

Sakura slapped her hand on the counter. "Gaara, that's exactly my point. I wouldn't be so worried if you were just another ninja, but you are the _Kazekage. _If people found out that the ambassador from Konoha was having a seemingly intimate relationship with the Kage, they wouldn't respect me. They'd think I got the position _because _of my relationship with you—they'd look down on me."

"But that's not what happened, Sakura. You earned the ambassador position."

"Exactly!" Sakura exclaimed. "They need to know I _earned_ it, and didn't—didn't slum around for it!" Her face reddened and Gaara opened his mouth in anger, but she didn't let him protest. "I am a representative for Konoha! I need to seem independent, strong, and professional! Not some silly girl who's seen flirting with their Kage—I can't seem like some kind person."

Gaara glared at her. In the back of his mind, he knew she was right—that didn't mean he was going to accept it. "Sakura, you can't be serious. Not only will the men I came here with never find out about our relationship, they can easily be silenced."

Sakura gave him a look. "You'd resort to threatening them? Oh, that's some really good Kazekage material right there. You're being selfish. You _know _I'm right."

He bristled at her words, he would not tolerate her mocking his title. "I'm being selfish? All I'm trying to do is stay close to you! I had thought you would be happy—that I'm making an effort, as you would say."

"Gaara, sometimes our relationship is going to have to take a step back against other things with greater importance!" Sakura argued. "This is business between our two villages! I'm trying to protect my village's reputation, while all you seem to care about is what you want."

He drew himself up. "You're making it sound like I don't care about my position, Sakura," he said dangerously. "Do you think I would abandon my position for a personal pleasure? Just what kind of leader do you think I am?"

Sakura fixed him with a dead stare, her voice just as quiet. "I'm saying is that you don't seem to understand the position we're in—I'm in. Against you're village, there would be no impact, but since it would be me that would look bad, it would make my village look bad. You may be thinking of your village, but you're not thinking about mine."

Gaara took a deep breath, but his anger did not recede. "You're being stupid and over-cautious—"

"Better than an ignorant fool who refuses to listen to people," Sakura said, her voice angry.

"Fine," he snapped, temper breaking. "Think what you want, go ahead. If you don't want people to think we're together—" He pushed himself up to his feet and grabbed up his things. "Do what you want. I don't care."

Gaara went to the door, yanked it open, and slammed it violently behind him. Sakura glared after him, arms crossed. After a moment she turned away, eyeing the pots and pans sitting on the stove. Right now she thought it would be really satisfying to chuck one across the room.

--

"Sakura, you look a little…upset."

Sakura glanced up from the file she was reading. Ino was leaning against the wall opposite her, having just come for a quick visit while Sakura worked. "Do I…?" she asked distractedly, flicking her eyes back to the file, then putting it aside.

"Yes, you do. Did something happen?"

"I got selected as the ambassador for Konoha."

Ino's face lit up. "Really! Wow! I knew that Shikamaru was being considered for that, but you got it?" Ino hesitated, her face falling. "But…why do you look so gloomy?"

Sakura shrugged. "I'm just not that excited, is all."

"Not excited?" Ino demanded. "Sakura, this is the experience of a life time! This isn't like you, what happened?"

Mulling over what to say, Sakura shrugged again. "I think Gaara and I had a fight."

"What? You fought?" Ino cocked her head. Getting into an argument with Gaara seemed really intimidating to her. "But…what happened?"

"I tried to reason with him about how to handle our relationship, now that we're going to be under such scrutiny. I didn't want his people to think I got the ambassador position because of Gaara. I guess Gaara thought I insulted him, or his Kazekage status—I don't remember much of what I said. He got pissed and stormed out." Sakura frowned and ran a hand through her hair, a little unnerved about how much better she felt now that she had talked about it.

Ino gave her a sympathetic look. In a quiet voice, she asked, "This was your first fight, wasn't it?"

"Yeah." She was silent for a moment, then shook her head. "But I can't let this get to me. It was bound to happen sometime, I mean, everyone fights. And I need to be focused on my trip that's coming up soon."

Ino watched her friend with a frown. "Aren't you upset though?"

"Of course I am. I hated fighting with him, but I couldn't just roll over and let him get what he wanted. He needs to learn that I'm not always going to do what makes him happy." Sakura crossed her arms, then glanced at Ino.

"What?"

She smiled sheepishly. "Um…you know, now that I'll be going to be in Suna for a few months…could you take my cat?"

Ino glared at her.

--

Temari kept her eyes on her brother as he sat beside her, facing the other advisors from across the table. She had lost track of the conversation a little while ago and didn't quite feel like caring enough to pay attention. She noticed that Gaara seemed…aggravated. Well, no one else would probably notice, but just small little things he made caught Temari's attention. Being with him so long, she knew how he acted when he wasn't in a good mood (then again, was he ever?)

He kept his voice calm and perfectly polite, and his face looked reserved as he spoke to the other people around the table, talking about who knows what about some stupid thing, Temari was sure, but the way he sat, how he kept moving his fingers. Something was annoying him.

A recess was called just then, and everyone stood and headed for the exit. Temari eyed Gaara as they stepped outside, shivering a bit from the chill in the air. She saddened for a moment, knowing that she would have to get used to this climate or else she would be very cold for the next few months. Pushing away that thought, she turned to her brother.

"Gaara…is something bothering you?"

He threw her an annoyed glance. "No."

Temari frowned, knowing he was lying. "Are you sure?"

Gaara opened his mouth to snap at her to mind her own business, when he stopped. Maybe Temari would be able to explain what happened earlier to him so he could understand. "Temari, why would Sakura not want people to know about our…relationship?" he asked.

Temari's frown increased, though she was a bit surprised that Gaara had decided to talk to her. "Probably for the same reason that Tsunade told us. She talked about how it wouldn't look good if it was found out that you two were involved."

Scowling, he turned his gaze away. He didn't want her to repeat what Sakura said—he wanted her to give him a detailed answer, something he could understand, or even better, for her to take his side. "I don't get why that would cause such a problem."

"It's the way people think, Gaara," Temari explained slowly. "Try to think of it as…" she searched for an example. "As if a secretary got a promotion or raise because she was sleeping with her boss."

Gaara growled. "But that's not the position we're in! First off, I'm not her boss, and secondly, we're not intimate like that! She didn't get the position because I wanted her to."

Temari hesitated. She didn't want Gaara to start yelling at her, in the middle of the street, where everyone could listen to their conversation. Nervously, she said, "Gaara, there is no need to raise your voice."

Gaara blinked and realized that he had gotten loud. This was turning out just like the fight he had earlier. He scowled and took a deep breath, telling himself to keep his cool if he wanted to understand this. There was no reason for him to be getting angry at Temari for this.

Seeing that he had cooled off, Temari continued. "People won't think that far. If your relationship gets out, their first impression will be that Sakura got the job by doing something frowned upon in society. They'll stereotype her, no matter what. Sakura's self-conscious because she knows that. Even if the people of Suna find out what kind of person she really is, that's she hardworking and did earn her position, that first impression of her will always be in their minds. And some people will always think of her that way. Sakura doesn't want that to happen, and I would think, neither do you," Temari said.

He scuffed the dirt under his foot as he glared at the ground. When Temari explained it calmly like that, and when he wasn't angry, it made sense. Too much, in his opinion. "Of course not," he grumbled.

Talking carefully, Temari ventured, "I'm guessing you two had a fight about this."

"Yeah," he grumped, still looking at the ground.

Not sure if she was pushing Gaara a bit too far, she went on. "I'm sure Sakura's upset about this, too. No one likes to fight. But Sakura _was _the one who was being the most thoughtful, and she was the one who was right. I don't think she is going to apologize to you and makeup anytime soon…" Gaara glanced up at her, and Temari faltered for a moment. "I know it would mean a lot to her if you were the one who apologized, Gaara."

He gave her a look.

Temari crossed her arms—this was for Gaara's own good. Putting on her tough act, she told him, "If you want to stay with Sakura, then you're the one who's going to have to say you were sorry first. You guys are probably going to be together for a while, and you're probably going to get in many more fights—you might as well beat your pride back now and step up so it won't be so hard later. Sakura's proud, too, and she's right. She's never going to come back to you, begging for forgiveness."

Irritated by his sister's brazenness, Gaara opened his mouth to ask her who she thought she was talking to when suddenly the call for the meeting to resume was called. Swallowing his words, he marched back into the conference room.

--

When Sakura finally got back to her home, it was well after dark. She had put off coming home for as long as she could, but now she was exhausted. That, along with how she was still upset over that morning, put her in a really awful mood.

She dreaded that Gaara might be waiting for her inside, now that she had given him a key (damn her, why did she have to do that?), because if he was, she knew that she would be obligated to order him to get out to stand up for her argument earlier. She really, really didn't want to see him right now.

So when she opened the door and saw it was empty inside, Sakura let out a small sigh of relief. But it didn't take long for loneliness to creep into her, and Sakura bit her lip. It was stupid of her to want him with her now, of all times. Sighing, she crossed to her bedroom, too tired to even eat or shower. As she crawled into bed, she couldn't help but notice how cold it was without the blankets being heated by another, or how big and empty it felt.

Biting her lip, Sakura tucked her face into the pillow and curled up, pulling the blankets closer around her.

In the morning, Sakura woke up still feeling drowsy and a little cold. With a yawn, Sakura threw her feet over the side of the bed and stretched, hearing her bones pop.

She immediately noticed the smell of smoke coming from the kitchen. Jumping to her feet Sakura dashed out of her room into the kitchen, skidding a bit on the wood floor in her socks.

Instead of a fire, she saw Gaara staring down at a pan on the stove, where something black was smoking. Confused, Sakura just stared at him. Gaara turned around to look at her. After a moment, he awkwardly looked away and coughed. "Morning," he said clumsily.

Sakura continued to stare at him, her mind not working yet.

Gaara felt like swearing. His plan had been to make her a small breakfast and leave before she woke up so there wouldn't be any awkward talking. So much for that. "I…tried to make you breakfast," he said gruffly, still not looking at her. "To make up for yesterday."

Sakura blinked. Was Gaara trying to make up? Was he trying to say he knew he was _wrong? _She rose her eyebrows.

Gaara took that gesture that she was still unhappy. Trying to figure out how he could get out as fast as possible, he said, "Well, as you can see, it didn't go so well. I picked up some donuts on the way, though—here," he pushed a box across the counter. Sakura mechanically put her hand out to stop it from falling to the ground. "I'll, er, see you later," he said. He went to move to the door.

Sakura grabbed his arm, smiling at him. "Thanks," she whispered quietly, and hugged him. Gaara hesitated, unsure. Did she accept? Was she still mad? Was she pleased with him?

When Sakura stepped away, the smile was still on her face. "Let's have breakfast, huh?"

--

A while later, as Sakura said goodbye to Gaara and started to get ready to go the hospital, she shook her head and smiled. After a long, and carefully polite talk between both of them, Gaara reluctantly agreed to spend his nights at the inn with his men, in return for Sakura to let him spend dinner and breakfast with her. It was a simple agreement, and it would probably be broken soon enough, but it was a start.

Now all she had to do was clean up the mess Gaara had left on the stove.

--

**I don't think I managed to convey the fight well, or how the making up went. When I was writing it, I was having trouble, and now that I read it, it still doesn't seem to be enough to get either of them angry like that. The same thing happened with the making up scene. Hmph. I tried to get across how even though Gaara would never say he was sorry or apologize to anyone, for Sakura, he makes an exception, even if he won't go so far as to say the actual words. It didn't seem to be appropriate to make both of them have a intimate make up either, because having them hug and kiss just didn't fit.**

**I wanted to have this a romantic and rememborable scene, but I'm pretty sure I failed at that (hangs head).**


	13. Chapter 13

Tadaa

**Tadaa! Thirtenth chapter—and I finally got my story a bit back on track. Yay me.**

--

The days really began to fly by. As Sakura rushed around trying to make plans for her trip, and got her things together, and having talks with Tsunade about what she was expected to do with Suna, _along _with studying as much as she could on medical practices, she really got caught up. She was feeling tired almost always, but she didn't let that get her down. She always looked forward to the times she got to spend with Gaara, because that was the only time she wasn't expected to be running around doing this or that. Gaara, apparently, was just as busy, for even more and more representatives from villages kept showing up to show their loyalty and support for both Konoha and Suna.

It was evening, just after they had finished eating and sat down on the couch like they usually did. Gaara has his arm around Sakura, unwilling to say goodbye so soon. Sakura felt the same—this was the only calm time in her day.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" Gaara asked, if only to delay the time until he would have to leave.

"Let me see what I have…" Sakura glanced at her tiny movie collection. Not really caring what she watched, she picked one randomly. It seemed a little romance-y, not really Gaara's style, but she had a feeling he cared even less about what was on the TV than she did, so long as he got to stay longer. Lately Sakura had wished she hadn't asked that Gaara not stay at her apartment all night now that she rarely got to see him, but she refused to go back on what she said.

She plopped back onto the couch, and Gaara pulled a blanket around both of them and settled in for the movie. Sakura leaned against his chest contentedly, humming to herself.

Surprisingly, it was Sakura that dozed in and out during the movie, not Gaara. He watched the screen, slightly bored and just grateful it wasn't a musical. As the two main characters began to have a romantic scene, however, his thoughts traveled back to Sakura. How long had it been since he had really kissed Sakura like that, or held like that…?

He frowned as the female character clung to the man and he embraced her, whispering lines into her ear. Did women really like that? What he was saying was just plain stupid, Gaara thought.

He watched as the scene got a little more heated and turned his eyes on Sakura. How long _had _it been since they had really been together? He shifted uncomfortably, hands now wanting to touch her. Still remembering what had happened the last time Sakura had been sleeping, he'd rather not have that happen again.

"Sakura," he said quietly, and she stirred slightly. He jostled her a little bit with his arm and she opened her eyes.

"Oh, did I fall asleep?" she frowned, pushing herself into a more upright position. "What time is…Gaara?" she asked, confused about the way he was watching her.

She was a bit surprised when Gaara kissed her, but didn't resist. When he pulled away, Sakura, face a little flushed, asked, "Gaara? What was that about?"

"I want to hold you," he said, and kissed her again, hands coming up to her arms. Sakura was a bit confused about what had brought this on, but it had been too long since she and Gaara had been close like this. She wrapped her arms around his neck and let him pull her to him, mouth on his. Gaara deepened the kiss as he pressed forward so he was on top of her. Sakura didn't mind, though, because this way she could feel more of him. His weight on her felt comforting and protecting, and, oddly enough, she found she really liked that.

They continued kissing and Sakura let herself float off, enjoying the moment. Gaara, encouraged by her lack of resistance, pushed harder, letting his hands wander more than he had before, loving the feel of her under him. Sakura's breath hitched when she felt his hand over her breast, but she didn't push it away. Hoping to distract her, Gaara moved his lips down, to Sakura's neck and she let her head fall back, her breath quick. When Gaara bit her lightly and licked the skin Sakura had to bite her own lip to keep from gasping.

In the back of her consciousness, her mind was scrambling over how to react—whether she thought Gaara was going a bit too fast. But Sakura didn't acknowledge that. The feelings coming from her body were too overwhelming, and she couldn't think, only react. A sharp breath here, biting her lip to keep back a little cry, her hands instinctually pulling him closer. She was vaguely aware that Gaara had slid one of his knees between her legs and that his hands were both holding her hips, fingers splayed wide, but she only registered that Gaara's mouth was on her, how close they were, and how hot she felt from the blanket that was tangled around both of them. She wanted to push it out of the way so she could feel more of him, but both her hands had gotten trapped between their chests. She freed one, but instead of pushing away the blanket her hand jumped to the back of his neck so she could kiss him better.

He returned the favor, only harder and longer. Sakura had both her hands now on his shoulders, but before she could figure out what to do with them Gaara leaned over to her ear so close that she could feel the heat of his breath and soft huffs. A deep shiver ran from her head to her toes and she turned her head away and tightened her grip on him.

Gaara felt her tremble under him and smirked, for some reason it gave him a thrill. He pondered for a moment, then switched to the other side, leaving quick kisses along the way. While Sakura was distracted, frustrated by his sudden short kisses instead of his deep long ones, Gaara slid his hand carefully under the hem of her shirt. She didn't notice, because just then Gaara had kissed her full on the mouth and she was happy to get what she wanted, and Gaara slid his hand a bit farther, careful to keep his touch light.

At this time, Gaara hesitated, wondering if he dare go farther, but his fingers were itching to feel more of her smooth skin. Just as he reached his goal, Sakura suddenly froze, having realized where his hand was.

_Crap, _Gaara thought.

Sakura swiftly sat up, pushing him away. She accidentally added some force to it, her body automatically doing so once she got surprised, and Gaara fell against the other side of the couch.

Sakura's face felt hot as she watched him, hands over her chest. Gaara saw the multitudes of expressions on her face as he pushed himself up, but due to the amount of them couldn't quite figure which were strongest. He did see that she was shaking.

It took Sakura a moment to speak. She dropped her gaze when she opened her mouth. "It's getting late. I think its time for you to leave."

Gaara didn't move, unsure what to do. Had he really crossed the line? It was just a simple touch, but for her to go quite like that…

"Sakura," he tried, but she only jerked her head in a quick shake.

"Please, Gaara. Your teammates will be wondering where you've gone."

He hesitated for a moment longer, then reluctantly got to his feet. He threw her a last glance, but when Sakura didn't meet his eyes, he scowled and went for the door. When Sakura heard it close, she left out a deep breath, lowering her arms.

She closed her eyes and then opened them again. What was that? The second she realized that Gaara's hand was under her shirt and fingering at her bra, an explosion of thoughts and emotions had slammed into her.

The first had been shock and confusion about whether or not he knew what he was doing, along with slight indignation. She had realized he was trying to distract her from noticing, and that upset her—he was using strategy during such a close and intimate moment to get what he wanted! That was what made her shove him away, but then she was embarrassed for doing that! She didn't want him to think that she had simply shoved him away because his hand had strayed, because, well, she had sorta/kinda/totally/not really liked it. And of course, she was embarrassed about that. With all those things going through her head, she would not be able to deal with them with Gaara sitting across from her and staring at her.

Sakura fell back onto the couch arm and covered her face, letting out a long sigh. Lately she had been thinking about how her relationship had been progressing. She had (much to her embarrassment) tried to imagine what it would be like when (because she knew what Gaara was like, so there was no if) they, so to say, 'took it to the next step.' She never quite managed to think of it in full detail, but she had hoped that she would be able to handle it—and not freak out like she had just done. She hated to admit it, but she was curious, and maybe even a little excited, about what would happen when they took it farther. She had just failed her hopes.

And, to top it off, Sakura also had thought of another thing when he had first fingered at her bra. She didn't want him to see her in her simple, 'boring' bra. She had actually _wished_ she had been wearing something cute, maybe something even a little flirty. Feeling very silly, Sakura shook her head and stood, getting ready to go to bed. She didn't even try to figure out what she would do with Gaara the next morning.

--

The next day Sakura was slightly disappointed and happy that Gaara hadn't show up that morning. Part of it might have been because she got up early and basically skipped breakfast. Feeling guilty, Sakura had scurried out the door quickly with a bagel in her mouth and hurried off to the hospital.

Sakura wouldn't say the time flew by, because the hospital wasn't busy that day. She dealt with a broken arm—some fool of a carpenter fell off a roof—and took care of a woman who was having trouble recuperating from a difficult birth. Besides that she caught up with some paperwork that the nurses had fallen behind on (after giving them a quick scolding). She probably should have made them do it, since it was their job anyway, but she needed to do something with her hands, even if it was just writing up files. It was dark by the time she decided it was time to leave.

On her way home Sakura was walking down one of the store streets and was glancing at some of the windows when she stopped. Her eyes fell on a mannequin dressed in racy blue lingerie while another stood by her side, dressed in a more modest, classy panty set.

Sakura looked at them for a few moments, then hurriedly glanced around the street. It was busy, she couldn't see anyone she knew—no one would notice if she just slip away. She hesitated, then scurried into the lingerie store.

Sakura didn't know what on earth she was looking for and stopped the second she got in the door. There were rows set up by styles, then by colors. Sakura glanced around at some of the displays and mannequins, quickly nixing many of them. She could feel her face heat up as she looked around. They actually made those? And that—how on earth would someone get that on? How would they get it _off?_

Steeling herself, she walked over to one of the more modest sets. As she looked at them, Sakura wondered what on earth she was doing in here. Just one little scare by Gaara and she was going to buy a wardrobe of lacey under things?

Pushing that thought away, Sakura continued to flip through the racks. She was already here; she might as well make the step now and at least get a clue of what she wanted. The next thing she came across almost made her lose hope—wasn't underwear meant specifically to cover all that? Going to another row, Sakura felt a bit better. This stuff wasn't so revealing, but it was still cute and flirty. Maybe…she checked the price tag. Nope, definitely not. She hurriedly put it back.

"Need some help?"

Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin and turned around. A tall woman was standing there, smiling at her. She looked a bit too motherly for Sakura's liking, to be working in a lingerie store.

"Huh?" she asked.

"Need some help?" the woman repeated, her smile knowing. "You seemed to be a bit lost."

"Uh, yeah, you could say that," Sakura responded, finding this to be a very strange conversation, and one she certainly didn't want to have. "I'm just looking."

"Well, might as well look for the right thing," her newfound store buddy said. "Now let's see…" she gave Sakura a quick look down. "Why don't you look over here?" She led her over to a rack of bras. "These will bust you right up!"

Pausing for a moment to fight back her annoyance and embarrassment, Sakura was pretty sure she felt her eyebrow twitch—was this woman calling her flat? Forcing her voice to be polite, she said, "I'm not looking for, er, everyday things."

"Oh, special occasion?" the woman asked. Sakura was grateful she didn't wink at her or anything like that. "We have all sorts of things like that. Are you leaning more towards flirty, modest, or skimpy?"

Sakura threw a quick glance around the store. Skimpy was quickly struck off the list. "I'm not sure. I'd like to look around more first."

Taking that as her cue to drop the conversation, the saleswoman nodded and politely excused herself. Sakura frowned as she turned back to looking at all the merchandise.

--

Sakura entered her apartment and flipped on the lights, then walked into her bedroom and set her bag down and began to put the things away.

The first thing she pulled out was a warm pair of pajama bottoms—not exactly the most adventurous thing, but Sakura thought she needed to buy at least something before she left the store. And besides, they were cute.

Sakura set those aside to wear later and went back to the bag. She chewed her lip as she pulled out a bra and panty set and examined it. At the store it seemed pretty harmless, surrounded by all other types of underwear, but now…Sakura shook her head and yanked off the tags, stopping her reluctance in its tracks. She was _not _going to return any of this. It was fine, there was nothing wrong with it.

Sakura did the same with her other purchases, pulling off the tags. She knew they fit, there was no need to stare at them and doubt her decision.

There was the sound of a door opening, and then, "Sakura? Are you here?"

Sakura froze, staring at the things in here hands. Gaara was here!

"Sakura? Are you in here?"

"Er, yeah!" Sakura called, whirling around. She was not going to let Gaara see these! She heard Gaara's footsteps come closer and she yanked open her dresser drawer, stuffing in the items. Just as she slammed closed the drawer, Gaara stuck his head through the door. He gave her a quizzical look when she spun around and leaned against the dresser, a weak smile on her face.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Nothing! Er, nothing at all. What are you doing here?"

He frowned, but didn't push the issue. "I just wanted to explain why I didn't come here in the morning. A…problem popped up with some of the men that we came here with, that took me a while to solve. By the time it was all done with I figured that you would have already left."

Still a little flustered with having to hide away her things, Sakura just nodded and pushed the hair out of her face, saying quickly, "Oh, don't worry about it. I didn't mind."

Gaara was a little irked at her response—she hadn't cared that he wasn't there?—and his frown deepened. Seeing his look, Sakura gave a nervous laugh and walked up to him. "You know what? Why don't we eat now? I'll just heat something up."

Gaara's eyes fell on something lacey peeping out from a drawer and quirked an eyebrow, his interest peaked, but then Sakura grabbed his arm and pulled him out. Still looking over his shoulder, Gaara reluctantly followed her.

As Sakura pulled out something from the fridge and put it in the oven to warm it up, Gaara sat down at the counter. Sakura played with her hands and kept her back to him for a moment, fighting herself. She wanted to talk to him about the other day, but there really wasn't any need for that. But the stupid thought kept nagging her…!

Finally she turned around. "Gaara?"

"Hmm?"

"Um, about last night. I'm sorry. I overreacted a little bit," she said awkwardly. "I didn't mean to push you away like that. You just surprised me."

"Surprised you?" Gaara asked. "You weren't angry?"

"No, not really," she replied slowly, realizing that starting this was probably a mistake.

"So…you wouldn't mind if I did it again?" he asked slyly, getting up from his seat.

Sakura glared at him. "Hey, don't get any ideas," she told him.

"Ideas like what? I think you're going to have to inform me."

"I think I'm going to inform you to get back in your seat," Sakura said back, deciding that she wasn't going to let him take advantage of her every time he tried.

Gaara frowned, but wasn't about to be put out by that. She had just given him hope that she didn't mind when he got grabby, and now he wanted to test that out. How could she put that in front of him and expect him not to act on it? He walked around the counter. Sakura watched him warily, glaring. "Come on Sakura, what's with that look?" he asked.

"Gaara, every time we're together is not an opportunity to stick your tongue down my throat," she said.

Gaara tried to look upset, saying, "When you say it like that, it hardly sounds—"

"What, romantic? Like you could care less about being romantic," Sakura said grumpily, though she did think it was a little funny how Gaara was trying to make a joke.

Gaara drew himself up, still trying to act affronted. "Hey, I could be romantic if I tried."

"Sure you could," Sakura said with a laugh.

Seeing a challenge, Gaara changed his tone. "If I am will you let me hold you?"

She gave him a sharp look. "I would, but your idea of 'holding' isn't quite the same as mine."

"Don't be so negative."

"You know, that's kind of funny considering its coming from you."

"Ha ha," he sneered, then changed his mood. He took her hand and brought it to his lips, keeping eye contact with her. Sakura blushed as he pecked her wrist, then turned her arm over and trailed kisses up the inside of her arm. When he got to her elbow, he jumped to her opposite shoulder and trailed kisses up her neck, then kissed the side of her mouth. When Sakura turned so their mouths would meet Gaara pulled away, only far away enough so she couldn't reach him. Sakura pouted and glared at him and Gaara couldn't help but chuckle. "I thought you didn't want this?"

When she only let a small whine out, Gaara smirked and ducked his head, kissing the hollow of her throat. He brought his hands up to her sides and straightened, looking her in the eye. "Was that romantic enough for you?" he asked.

Sakura blushed, not about to lose this, even though her body was totally willing to just melt against him. "No."

"No?" Gaara asked, running his hands up and down her sides. "This wasn't romantic? I was actually trying just then."

She gave him a look. "You weren't really trying. You were just doing what you normally do, just softer and sweeter."

"Soft and sweet. Isn't that what people consider romantic?" Gaara asked, impatient.

"Sure, it was nice, but it wasn't romantic. Romantic would be doing something you wouldn't normally do. It's making an _effort _to be sweet. You simply suppressed your urge to jump right on top of me."

"That _was_ an effort," Gaara replied.

Sakura frowned at him. "My idea of romantic is a nice dinner, being taken out for a date, maybe even something simple like a quiet movie on the couch."

"That sounds boring," Gaara complained.

"Too bad for you then."

"Or…we could try my way. It's much funner."

Sakura realized he was playing with the hem of her shirt. "Gaara, _no_."

"Please?"

"Gaara, I said—"

He kissed her mouth briefly, and Sakura stopped immediately. When he pulled away and Sakura realized what she had done, her face flushed and she scowled. "You're a jerk."

"Yeah, you've told me that. Telling me that isn't going to make me stop."

"I had to try."

He kissed her again. "You're a very bad liar," he told her, wrapping his arms around her.

"Shut up," she muttered as he kissed her again.

It didn't take long for Gaara to let his hands wander. He trailed his fingers to her stomach and slipped them under her shirt, watching carefully for her reaction. She scrunched her face up and tucked her face into his shoulder. Gaara hesitated, then slid his hand up farther. He felt her muscles clench under his fingers and kissed her check, running his other hand up and down her back in an attempt to soothe her.

He felt her quick breath against his neck and he leaned down to kiss her. They continued for a few minuets, Sakura slowly calming down and relaxing enough to kiss back. She leaned against the counter and set her hands on his chest, biting his lip when his fingers tugged lightly at her bra and accidentally pulling it into her mouth when his hand didn't remove itself.

He hesitated, then pulled away and stared at her. Sakura met his gaze and recognized the surprised/pleased/lusty look in his eyes. She blinked, then it clicked. _"No,"_ she said sternly, even as he grinned. "No, that was not enouragem—ah!"

Gaara picked her up, threw her over his shoulder, walked over to the couch, and dropped her down. He settled himself over her and kissed her deeply, smirking. Sakura tried to be angry, but she could only feel his hands all over her and his mouth on hers. She grabbed his wrist when he went to slip her shirt up, but after a moment let go.

Sakura took a deep breath, but suddenly her eyes flew open—she smelt smoke.

She burst up, knocking Gaara off her and sending him tumbling to the ground with a surprised yelp and jumped over the back of the couch, rushing over to the oven. Grabbing oven mitts, Sakura yanked open the oven door and pulled out the meal.

"Sakura…what the hell was that?" Gaara asked as he pushed himself up, rubbing his head.

"The food almost burned," Sakura said, fanning the meal with one of the mitts.

Gaara glared at her back. "No…we wouldn't want that now, would we?" he grumbled as he got to his feet.

--

**Progress the plot? No, not really. I did get it back on track, however. That's gotta be worth something. I'm not quite sure how on earth I'm going to manage to get the rest of the plot in the story without having too many chapters if I keep writing short ones like these, but I just don't have it in me to write long ones. Not only does it take me so much longer to finish, but editing it is really annoying. Shoot. And here I had promised myself that I wasn't going to complain about this chapter in the author note for once. Well, it wouldn't quite be one of mine if I couldn't find something wrong with it. Silly me.**


	14. Chapter 14

So sorry, guys. I never meant for this to take so long. (*Dodges rocks that are thrown at her*) I'll just skip my apologies and get to the story. In this chapter, Gaara's going to seem a little out of character. I'm trying to show how attached he's getting to Sakura, and how he's trying to make her happy—even though he really has no clue what he's doing. So no, I'm not trying to butcher his character, just make him more relationship-focused.

----

Sakura frowned as she glanced at her calendar. She would be leaving for Suna tomorrow. Where had the time gone? It wasn't like she wasn't ready or anything, it was just…Sakura wasn't sure she wanted to leave, now the time had come. She turned to look at her bag that was sitting on the couch. It was larger than her usual traveling pack, filled with things Sakura thought she would need when she got to Suna.

Gaara watched her, glancing over her shoulder to see the calendar. He sat at the kitchen counter, drumming his fingers next to his finished plate of toast. He frowned slightly too. Was she unhappy? About coming to Suna with him?

"Sakura."

She turned away from the calendar and glanced at him. "What?"

"Are you regretting accepting the ambassador position?" Gaara asked seriously.

Sakura eyed him. From his tone of voice, she saw him more like the Kazekage, rather than the Gaara she'd been kissing the previous night. She cocked her head, thinking of what to say. "It's different. It's a lot of responsibility, and I haven't really been in such a position. And that won't be the only new thing. Everything's going to be new…the environment, the people, what I'll have to do." Sakura shrugged. "I wouldn't say I'm worried about it, but it might take me a while to get used to it."

Gaara's frown deepened. He didn't want her in this mood. "I'm actually free today, Tsunade said I could do what I wanted. Do you want to do something with me?"

Sakura gave him a look. "You're making it sound like you want to go out."

"Why not? We haven't done it before, and you'd like it, right?"

"Well, I guess…but it's the morning, what could we do?"

"Why don't we get breakfast? I've seen plenty of those little cafés around, I'm sure they'd serve breakfast."

"But Gaara, you just ate."

"You haven't. Come on, let's do something," Gaara urged.

Sakura was a little bewildered by his mood—since when did Gaara want to go out to eat, and had he even ever stepped foot in a café?—but she wasn't about to turn him down. It seemed like a nice idea. "Alright…just the two of us? I don't want people to…"

Gaara rolled his eyes. "We can grab Temari, if that'll make you feel better."

"Well, alright…I don't have to be at the hospital before noon, so I should be set."

The two of them left Sakura's apartment, heading towards Shikamaru's place. Temari actually opened the door just before they knocked and blinked at them, looking surprised. "I didn't expect to see you two," she said. "I was just heading out…"

"Gaara wanted to go get some breakfast, and I wanted to know if you'd like to come along," Sakura supplied, getting raised eyebrows from the blonde. "Yeah, I know. That's what I thought too."

Temari smirked. "Sure, why not. I haven't eaten yet."

"Who's at the door?" an aggravated voice called from inside, turning Temari's expression sour. Scowling, she turned and yelled over her shoulder, "None of your business!"

"Like hell it isn't! This is _my _place, no matter how much of your crap you put in here!" Shikamaru came around the corner, looking grumpy. Seeing the two at his door, he stopped. "Sakura. What are you doing here?"

"I was just asking if Temari would like to go to breakfast with us," Sakura said, trying to gauge the mood between Temari and Shikamaru. Were they just grumpy because it was early, or had they really already started out on the wrong foot?

"Breakfast? I haven't eaten yet, that sounds good," Shikamaru muttered, scratching his head.

"No one invited you," Temari sneered, glaring at him.

"I am, right now."

Everyone turned to look at Gaara, who had just spoken. He didn't give a response besides shrugging his shoulders. He wasn't about to tell them that he found this situation particularly amusing. Seeing his sister so irritated, and not because of him, was a rarity for Gaara, and he wanted to see what would happen if this continued.

Sakura frowned at Gaara, and Temari scowled and crossed her arms. Shikamaru just smirked at her and grabbed his shoes.

The walk to the café wasn't long. Sakura picked one she had been to before and the group picked a booth by the window, Gaara and Sakura on one side, and a very irritated Temari and a very smug Shikamaru on the other. Sakura watched with apprehension as the two of them sat as far away from each other as possible until a waitress placed menus in front of her. Hurriedly thanking her, Sakura spent the rest of her time flipping through that.

Once everyone had placed their order, the conversation began. Temari was the first to speak, asking Sakrua, "So, you looking forward to going to Suna?"

She shrugged. "A little. How are you liking it at Konoha?"

After a quick glanced at Shikamaru, who ignored her, Temari mirrored her and shrugged also. "Not anything against your village, Sakura, but I'm not quite all that into it. I haven't even been assigned to anything yet as am ambassador."

"What? Are you serious?" Sakura asked, surprised. "I was immediately told that I would be working at the hospital."

"Well, that's one of Suna's weak points. None of our other kage's thought that aiding our hospital was important enough to take ninjas off the field. They always had it staffed with civilians. Hats off to you, Gaara," Temari said a little mockingly, "for finally making the decision that there should be people, not necessarily fully trained ninjas, in the hospitals who knew how to use chakra for healing."

Temari paused, turning her gaze out the window for a moment to look at the streets. "Konoha doesn't have any problems like that. You're village is pretty stable. Without any wars going on, its doing fine. Good trade routes, peaceful neighbors…" she sighed. "I've had this talk with Tsunade before. She said she'd send me on important missions, but until then, she can't give me anything to do. The only missions coming in lately have been simple, low class stuff, and she refuses, thankfully, to use me for those. It'd be like throwing twenty nets in the river to catch a single fish. It's a waste of my skills."

"Tsunade seriously can't think of anything to give you?"

Temari shook her head. Sakura frowned and sat back in the booth, crossing her arms. "That's pretty bad."

"Tell me about it. Not only do I have to sit around all day, I have to stay at this lump's place," Temari grumbled, jerking her head at Shikamaru. He grunted but otherwise ignored her. "Look at him. He's so lazy he can't even think of a comeback."

Shikamaru turned to look at her, glaring. "Maybe I just decided it wasn't worth the waste of air."

"Oh please, if anything's a waste—"

"Foods here!" Sakura said hurriedly, breaking up their little spat. The waitress was indeed walking over, laden with trays and setting them down. Temari grabbed her plate and Shikamaru did the same. Sakura was just happy they had stopped arguing and began to eat.

----

When they finished up, Gaara and Sakura parted ways with Shikamaru and Temari. As the two of them walked over to the hospital, Sakura asked, "Is it really a good idea to have Temari stay with Shikamaru? Why can't she just stay at a hotel or anything?"

"I think the Hokage was trying to get Temari's and Shikamaru's bad past out of the way. Temari's still has a bit of a chip on her shoulder from the exams."

"Does she?" Sakura asked, surprised. "I wouldn't pin Temari to hold a grudge."

Gaara shrugged. "Usually she doesn't. Shikamaru was one of the few people ever to beat her ever since she's started her training. And the fact she was beaten in front of hundreds of people doesn't help either."

"I hope they end up getting along," Sakura said.

"If they don't, they'll just end up killing each other," Gaara said simply, earning a look from Sakura. "What?"

She just stared at him. "I'm not even going to say anything."

"I was joking."

"Were you? I couldn't tell." Sakura paused. "You know, that's a little scary."

He frowned at her.

Sakura ignored him and saw they had reached the hospital. "It's time for my shift. I'll see you tonight."

"Alright." Gaara watched as she went inside. What was he going to do for the rest of the day? As he watched her walk out of sight, an idea popped in his head. At first he rejected it, but then as the thought wouldn't go away, he began to consider it. He should do something nice for her. She'd like that, right? Gaara went off to ask Temari for advice.

---

When Sakura walked through her door that night, she was surprised to see Gaara standing over the stove. He looked up at her. Why did he always forget about what he was going to say?

"Gaara?"

He looked back at her. "I made you dinner. You know, for all the ones you've made me."

"You made me dinner…?" she questioned, remembering the last time Gaara tried this. Hadn't the food burned to a crisp?

"Spaghetti," he said shortly. "Temari said that it would be easy."

Not about to tease him for having to ask his sister for help, Sakura was actually touched at his attempt to be nice. It was strange for him to do something like this, and she was really happy. Sincerely, she said, "Thank you."

Gaara shifted uncomfortably and shrugged his shoulders, sliding the pasta onto two plates. Sakura couldn't help but smile. He was embarrassed! That was kind of, dare she say, cute. As Gaara set the plates down, Sakura walked up behind him and hugged him.

Gaara stiffened a little. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Hugging you."

"Why?"

She ignored his question and stepped back. "Because you're being sweet." Gaara made a face. "Do you remember when we were talking about being romantic? I think you're coming pretty close."

Gaara frowned at her. He did not want to be described like that. "Is that a good thing or bad?"

"Good, I promise," Sakura said with a smirk as she sat down to eat. Gaara hesitated, then sat down by her.

As she ate, she contemplated what had been going through Gaara's mind while he was making dinner. It must have been a little embarrassing, Sakura was sure, though Gaara would never admit it. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. He was pointedly looking away from her, playing with his food. She smirked.

She finished her food and waited for Gaara to do the same, twirling her fork through the leftover sauce. When Gaara pushed his plate away and realized she was watching him, he turned to her and gave her a questioning look.

She just smiled and stood up, hugging him. Gaara froze up again for a second, frowning down at her head, and said, "You're…ah, being rather affectionate today, aren't you?"

Sakura pulled back so she could grin up at him and roll her eyes. "Do you not like it?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Gaara scowled. "I have a feeling that's a dangerous question."

Sakura smirked again. "Don't worry. I can do what you like too." She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him in close to kiss him lightly. Gaara made a noise of appreciation and she chuckled, feeling his hands slid down around her.

Within a few minutes, with brief kisses, brushes, and pants, Gaara was leaning against the counter, still sitting on the chair, with Sakura pulled up against him. Both of them were pretty much in a blank mental state as they held each other, just enjoying the touch of the other. Sakura wanted to get closer, but quickly realizing that there wasn't quite enough room for two people on her kitchen chair. Pouting, she pulled away.

Gaara opened his eyes and looked at her. "What is it?"

She shook her head, still making a face.

"What is it? You—" his voice changed. Now it was sly as he watched her. "You're blushing again. What are you thinking?"

Sakura coughed and looked away. She realized what was wrong. She wanted to be on top of him, or him on top of her. Sakura tried to fight her blush and embarrassment, but that shocking thought wouldn't go away. "You have me trained," she muttered.

"Huh?" Gaara asked. "What do you mean?"

"Erm, nothing. Never mind, pretend I didn't say anything." Sakura detangled herself from him quickly and walked around the counter to grab the plates and put them in the sink, trying to get space between them. Gaara scowled. She couldn't just stop like that! That—that had to be against the rules or something.

He got up and circled the counter, coming up behind Sakura as she faced the sink. Sakura stilled as he pressed his chest against her back. "Sakura, what's bugging you?"

She frowned, seeing he didn't want to leave this alone. "I'm just being stupid, I guess." She looked down at the plates in her hands and decided she would try to change the subject. Leaning back into him, she said, "You know, I'm really happy that you made dinner for me."

"Were you?" he asked awkwardly.

"Yes, very much." Feeling his hands slide around her, Sakura decided didn't want to stop the little session they were just having. Gaara didn't have to know what she was thinking, anyway. So what if she preferred feeling him pressed against her? Plenty of people were probably like that—and besides, it seemed like he was going to continue either way.

Sakura lowered her hands down to his arms around her and cocked her head back so she could kiss his jaw. Gaara smiled and lowered his chin so he could meet her. They kissed for a moment, then Gaara turned her around so she didn't have to crane her neck and put his hands on either side the counter, lightly leaning against her. As the kiss deepened, Sakura tightened her grip on him and tried to pull him closer, even though there really was no more space left between them. Gaara couldn't help but smirk. He couldn't get enough of the effect he had on her—and vice versa. He wanted to feel more of her. Body heat, closeness—he wanted more.

Still entangled in each other, Gaara led Sakura over to the couch, where they fell a little awkwardly but didn't care in the least. Sakura didn't complain or try to resist as Gaara settled above her, for she was busy with exploring the skin under his shirt with her hands. He shivered under her touch for a moment, then resumed their kiss.

When Gaara's mouth moved out of range, Sakura pouted and moved her lips down to his neck, her hands still on his chest. Gaara used one hand to prop himself so he wasn't putting all his weight on her and the other went to her hip, moving his thumb in light circles under her shirt. Sakura squirmed a little bit and muttered against his shoulder, "That tickles."

Gaara chuckled and kissed her again, his hand roaming down, sliding down to hold the back of her thigh. He pulled it up so her knee was pressing against his side. Sakura tangled it around his leg, not caring what she was doing so long as he wouldn't stop. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders and held him close as she felt his hand slip under her shirt.

Reason, time, and thought flowed out of both of their minds as they held each other, softly kissing, hands roaming, heartbeats pumping, shirts brushed aside slightly, kisses deepening and grips tightening. They separated for hardly a second to breathe, then continued, driven by urges to touch and feel each other. The heat was getting unbearable but neither cared, unwilling to separate, wanting more. Finally Sakura had to break away, panting. Gaara pushed himself up to catch his breath and watched her as she lay there below him, chest heaving and eyes closed. When she opened them and saw him over her, Sakura blushed a little, trying to smile, slightly embarrassed.

When Gaara saw her look up at him, flushed and out of breath—he didn't know how to explain it. He just _wanted _her, right there and then, it was like a switch was flipped on in him. He _craved _her, _needed _her. He felt like he was going to explode if he didn't.

Sakura was surprised at the sudden fierceness Gaara used to resume the kiss but didn't stop him, simply adjusting and wrapping her arms around him. Gaara's hand slid right down to her waist, to the button on her pants. She didn't realize it, too caught up in everything else. Her seeming acceptance only urged Gaara on and he used his other hand to run up her thigh, higher and higher, until his fingers reached between her legs.

Sakura's body gave a little jerk and she gasped, sitting up. Gaara watched her—suddenly nervous—and moved his hands to more discreet spots on her hips. The shock and alarm in her eyes was enough to Gaara know he had stepped over the line.

"G-Gaara," Sakura began, pushing her hair out her eyes, still shocked. She didn't know what to say. Gaara's face was unreadable, but his eyes showed a mix of emotions. Lust was definitely there, but she also saw a hint of caution and guilt. "What…? I—I mean…"

The silence between them fell hard on their ears but they couldn't look away from each other. Neither knew what to say or what to do. Sakura was too surprised and confused, and Gaara felt unbearably guilty for scaring her.

Seeing that she wasn't going to come to a conclusion soon, Gaara glanced down for a moment, knowing he should say something, or apologize, or _something, _but dammit, he hated it, but he still wanted to continue. He looked back up at her and saw she was slowly getting over her alarm and asked, "Sakura…can I stay the night?"

It took Sakura a moment to understand what he meant, but when he did, she met his eyes. He meant sex, didn't he? That must be what he meant. He wanted to have sex with her.

That scared her.

She didn't understand why. Too many things were going through her head, and she couldn't deal with it. She didn't want to. She was angry and scared. She was confused and hurt. Fully aware that Gaara was watching her, she met his eyes. He was startled to see that hers were bright, about to cry. He moved forward, intending to hold her, but Sakura pulled away and told him, "Gaara, it's time for you to leave."

He looked at her, and it only made him feel even guiltier. He had really messed up this time. "Sakura, I—"

"I don't want to talk to you!" she snapped, her voice angry from her distress. Gaara actually flinched back, and opened his mouth again. She cut him off. "Go away. I don't want to look at you right now." When Gaara didn't move, she stood and strode out of the kitchen into the bathroom, slamming it closed. She went over to the toilet, put the seat down, and sat down heavily, plopping her head in her hands.

Gaara didn't know what to do. He had made her _cry_. He needed to apologize—he didn't want to leave her alone like this. He got up and moved to the bathroom door. "Sakura, please—" he didn't know what he could say that would fix this. He had never imagined that this would have upset her so much.

"Go away!" she yelled from the other side of the door, holding back tears. Now she was only getting more upset.

"Sakura, let me in!" He could hear the way her voice broke, and it made him feel sick. He wanted to comfort her—but she wouldn't let him! "I didn't mean to upset you, please—"

"Go away!" she repeated, furious at how her voice cracked and at the tears that were running down her face.

Gaara didn't know what to do. He couldn't leave her like this. He needed to explain, to calm her down… "Sakura, I don't know what to do. Please, let me hold you. I'm sorry. Please, I didn't mean…"

She didn't respond. Gaara waited for something, anything, but no sound came from the other side of the door. He thought about breaking down the door, but that would only get her more upset. "Sakura…"

She held a washcloth to her face to hold back her tears and stifle the cries that were trying to get out. She didn't understand what was going on anymore. She just wanted it to stop.

Sakura turned on the water in the shower and pulled off her clothes, stepping inside. She wanted to drown out the sounds Gaara was making from outside, but she could still hear them. She covered her ears and focused on the feeling of the water hitting her skin, biting her lip to keep her quiet.

She didn't know how long Gaara banged on the door, or how long she stayed in the shower. By the time she finally turned off the water, all was quiet, and when she threw on a towel and peeked out into the hallway, he was gone.

----

I swear when I wrote this it seemed a lot longer…oh well. And yes, they fought. I didn't plan for it to end like that, but when I wrote it…the fight just kinda, happened. I kind of like it, but it feels a little random for me. I didn't describe why Sakura got so upset well. I plan to go over that in the next chapter (whenever the hell that's going to be…stupid busy schedule!)


	15. Chapter 15

**Can you believe I'm actually updating? I can't. And no, I'm not dead. I've just fallen into the dreaded pit of procrastination, writer's block, and chronic business with no time to write. *Cries*. Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

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Sakura didn't know what to do. She tried falling asleep, but after two hours spent lying in her bed wide awake she had given up. She felt awful and tired and sad and confused all at the same time, and she couldn't focus on anything. She could only think about the things she had said to Gaara and how scared she had been, and how upset.

She finally realized she just had to get out of the apartment. She didn't have a clue what she was doing when she stepped out into the chill air, but it felt good against her skin. She glanced around and saw that no one was around. The lack of people bothered her. She didn't realize where she was going at first, but eventually she saw she was heading towards Ino's home. Once it dawned on her, Sakura slowed her pace. What on earth was she doing? It must be at least midnight, what did she expect herself to do? Walk in at the middle of the night and start chatting to her?

But now she wanted to. Sakura needed to talk to someone, and the only person she could think of right now was Ino. Sure, they were often awful to each other, but they were still friends, in a sick, twisted kind of way. So just as her pace slowed to almost a standstill, she changed her mind and kept walking.

Jumping up onto the sill outside of Ino's room was no problem, though she felt ridiculous. She knocked and peered aside, watching as Ino rolled over in bed and sat up. The blonde ruffled her hair and looked at the window, then stared. Sakura smiled weakly.

Ino got out of bed and hurried to the window, pushing it open. "Sakura, what the hell are you doing?" she demanded quietly.

Sakura frowned, looking away. "Can I…can I come in?"

Taking in Sakura's upset face, she stepped back. "Of course," she said softly, and as Sakura stepped inside, she asked, "What's wrong?"

Sakura bit her lip. "I'm sorry, I know this is really late…"

Ino closed the window, shaking her head. "Don't worry about it," she said. Ino knew that Sakura wouldn't do this if she wasn't really upset. "Sit. What happened?"

Sakura looked at the floor as she plopped onto the bed. "Gaara and I fought."

Ino sat by her side and realized her eyes were red. "Did he hurt you?" she demanded.

"What?" Sakura looked at her. "No, no of course not! We just…I don't know."

Ino relaxed a little. "Alright, tell me what happened?"

Sakura bit her lip. She didn't want to think about it. "He scared me."

"How?" Ino coaxed.

"We…were kissing, and he touched me. He wanted to…" she couldn't say it, too embarrassed.

Ino cocked her head. "He wanted to have sex?"

"Yeah," Sakura said quietly.

"And that scared you?"

"Is that weird?" Sakura suddenly asked, now worried that she wasn't normal. Her and Gaara had been together for a while now, didn't most couples have sex? Was she weird for not wanting to?

"I got upset the first time one of my boyfriends tried to pull that with me. But…you and Gaara fought over it?"

"I don't know what happened. It scared me, and I started yelling at him. I don't know why, but then I couldn't stop." Sakura pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "I—I started to cry, and that of course freaked Gaara out. I ended up locking myself in the bathroom," Sakura finished pathetically. She looked up at her friend. "I totally overreacted."

Ino frowned at her friend. "Sakura, don't feel so bad. I actually punched my first boyfriend for trying that."

"Did you really?"

Ino coughed and said gruffly, "Broke his nose. Needless to say, the relationship got a little awkward about that. But forget about me," she said hurriedly. "Look, don't worry about it. You and Gaara are bound to have a lot of issues and problems pop up if your going to stay together—_everyone _does. There is no such thing as the perfect relationship. You guys are bound to have fights."

Sakura rubbed her arm. She felt a little better after talking to Ino, but she still didn't know what to do about Gaara. "But…Gaara. I don't know what to do about that."

Ino shrugged. "Just apologize—if you feel like you should. Explain what happened. Tell him not to do it again until you're ready."

"It's not that simple."

"I don't know what to tell you. I wasn't there, and I'm not you. You're going to have to figure it out by yourself, Sakura. I can't give you all the answers."

"I—I know that. I didn't mean it to come out like that it's just…" Sakura shook her head. "Never mind. You're right. I feel a lot better now. Thank you."

"It's what I'm here for," Ino said with a smile. "Now, are you going to spend the night?"

---

That morning, Ino walked Sakura out to the front gate where everyone would be waiting to leave. They spoke about simple, trivial things, and promising to keep in touch. When they reached their destination, Shizune and Tsunade were already there, along with Temari and Shikamaru. Sakura smiled and hurried up to Temari, asking, "What are you going here?"

"Going to see you off," Temari said shortly, smiling back. "It's the least I can do, now that we're switching places."

Tsunade and her assistant walked up, each hugging Sakura. "I'll miss you," Shizune said. "Have a good time in Suna."

"Bring me back some of their sake when you return," Tsunade said with a grin. Sakura wasn't sure if she was joking or not. "And do a good job. Make me proud."

"I will," Sakura promised.

"Look, here's the rest of the group," Shizune announced. Sakura turned to see Gaara, his brother, and their three companions walking towards them. Sakura and Gaara met eyes, and then she looked away hurriedly. She didn't see Gaara scowl.

The groups joined and Gaara and Tsunade shared their official send offs, then she left him to do the same with the others. Gaara walked right over to Sakura, who watched him nervously. He opened his mouth and then hesitated, at a loss for what to say. Finally, "Are you alright?"

Sakura tried to smile at him, but it came out awkward. "Yeah." She glanced around and saw that the rest of the group wasn't very far away. She didn't want anything to personal to come out, so she said, "I—I didn't mean to overreact like that. I just…you surprised me."

Feeling relieved, Gaara opened his mouth to say more, then glanced over his shoulder. It looked like Tsunade was finishing up her goodbyes. He turned back to Sakura. "So, you're alright now?"

Unsure of what he meant by that, Sakura frowned. "I'm…still not ready for things like that."

And then Tsunade was upon them. "Is everything set and ready?" she asked Gaara.

Gaara reluctantly turned away from Sakura and nodded. "Yes, we have everything. I assume it is time to leave?"

"Yes." Tsunade nodded and stepped back. Everyone took that as a signal to leave. Taking a second to wave at the collection of her friends, Sakura smiled at them, then turned and hurried to catch up with everyone else, taking up pace a little behind Gaara.

After a while, Sakura's thoughts turned back to what had happened the previous night. Was that really the extent of their talk, just a simple 'how are you doing?' seemed a little…Sakura sighed. It wasn't like she wanted a big, drawn out conversation about it, but she thought she should at least talk to him in more detail to him about it, no matter how awkward it be.

She did her best not to dwell on it as they traveled, and soon it was noon and the group stopped for a quick lunch. Sakura thought that maybe then they would be able to talk then, but the three men she didn't know in the group had apparently decided it was about time they introduced themselves. The moment she shrugged off her pack, one of them walked up and held out his hand. Sakura blinked and looked at him for a moment before she realized what he was doing. "I'm Subaru Tojo," he said.

"Oh, hello," Sakura said, taking his hand. She thought it was a little strange they hadn't introduced themselves earlier, but she thought she should be inviting and nice. She might need their friendship when she got to Suna. "Sakura Haruno."

Subaru smiled and glanced over his shoulder, catching the eyes of his friends and jerking his head. They stood and walked over. "I'm Hiro Hamaya," the taller one said, but he didn't extend his hand. The second one frowned at him and then turned to Sakura, holding out his hand. "And I'm Yura Hamaya." Seeing Sakura's eyebrows rise in surprise, he smiled. "We're cousins."

They talked for a bit, and when they started walking again the other men kept up the conversation, interested in getting to know their new ambassador. Sakura was a little irked to lose her chance to speak with Gaara, but she shrugged it off. It wasn't as if they wouldn't have chances later. Subaru was a little bit too chatty for her taste, but he seemed happy to ramble on about Suna and how much he hoped she would like it there.

When it got dark, all of them stopped to set up camp. Sakura excused herself from the group to into the trees and search for any good firewood. It wasn't long before she heard someone following her and she turned around to see Gaara behind her. "Hey," he said.

Sakura leaned against a tree. "Hey."

"We didn't really get to talk about what happened," he started quietly.

"I know."

Gaara looked away from her for a moment, idly pushing around dirt with his boot. Talking about feelings and emotions wasn't quite a skill of his. Where to start…? Might as well get to the bottom of it, right?

"Why did you get so upset?"

Sakura made a face. This was going to be awkward...painfully so, probably. "I wasn't expecting…You surprised me, and I didn't like it."

Gaara frowned. He tried to choose his words well, but he couldn't figure out how to say this…_right. _"Sakura…I thought—I mean, you never really try to stop me anymore. You seemed okay with what we were doing. I don't understand why you were so upset. I…I thought you were urging me on," he ended, confused.

Sakura felt her face heat up, and hurriedly she said, "I didn't mean to." But had she urged him on? She thought back. She certainly didn't try to stop him at all when he first got started. Hell, she helped it get further, with all her kisses and pulling him closer. Was what happened her fault?

She pushed that out of her mind for the moment. Now was not the time to think about that. She stumbled on with the conversation. "It's not that I don't like kissing," she avoided the word 'making out', using it would have felt embarrassing and immature, "but…you wanted something more than that. You wanted to…"

Sakura didn't want to say sex. Using that word would make it real, remind her just once more about what exactly it meant. And to her, it meant a lot of things. It wasn't just the true physical things. It meant a lot emotionally to her, too. She had grown up learning that sex was a big step in a relationship, one of the biggest ones a couple could make. It lead to a lot of things. Depending on the couple, it could mean a stronger relationship and take it farther—marriage, kids, certainly. But with a couple that wasn't so secure, it could lead to other things. Jealousy. Insecurity. Fights. Needless to say, the two of them definitely were no where near ready for the positive benefits, and certainly didn't want the negative ones. She wasn't sure if she had a strong enough relationship with Gaara to feel that it was 'alight', 'safe' to have sex with him. She knew she wasn't ready.

How could she explain all that to Gaara?

Gaara eyed her when she went silent, watching her face as she thought. He had never wanted to know what someone was thinking more than this moment. "Sakura?"

She looked up at him. She wouldn't know how to tell him all of that. But she could tell him the basic parts, at least. Softly, she said, "The idea of having sex scares me."

Gaara blinked, trying to register that. Before he could say anything, she continued.

"I don't know how you think of it. You might just think of the physical part. To me, there's a lot of emotional meaning to it. I'm not ready for that." Sakura drew her arms up around herself, feeling cold and nervous.

Gaara didn't know what to say, so he just stood there in silence. Sakura glanced at him, then ducked down and grabbed some wood she had collected. "I'm going back to camp," she said quietly, and walked off in the direction of the rest of the group.

Gaara turned to watch her go, frowning. After a moment, he started to walk too, making a wide arc so he would come back to camp in the same general direction he had left from. He thought of the conversation they had just had, mulling over what Sakura had said. Sex scared her? Was she afraid of simply having sex, or was she afraid of having sex with _him? _He pushed that thought away, annoyed at it. That didn't make any sense—he was being stupid. But still…he couldn't understand her reasonings. Why would she be afraid? He understood the whole 'not ready' thing (for the most part, anyway), but why would she be afraid? He had scared her, after all, hadn't he? That must have been why she blew up the previous night. It had been just a simple touch, but…to scare her?

Gaara couldn't comprehend it. He didn't know anything that scared her. This was Sakura. She could pulverize buildings and probably crush a man's skull to powder. He had seen her frightened before, certainly—she had screamed out in the middle of the night before from nightmares, but those had been brief, fleeting moments, with Sakura not having any control in the dreams, or something like that. But this was real. She was responding like it was a threat—like _he_ was a threat.

Scowling, Gaara entered camp. Sakura was already kneeling by the firepit, getting it started.

Dinner was a simple affair, and they quickly set up their tent. Sakura was a little nervous that Gaara would insist sleeping next to her, but when finally came in just as she was getting inside her sleeping bag, he only looked at her, glanced around at the others and frowned, picking a spot away from her. Sakura mimicked his frown and snuggled down into her sleeping bag, not quite sure why she was disappointed. Deciding she was just being stupid, Sakura sighed and closed her eyes.

----

The next few days followed in the same pattern, uneventful and simple. Gaara and Sakura didn't get any more chances to be together, Sakura too nervous that they might be seen. Gaara would only frown, but he didn't push it. He didn't want to push it.

Kankuro would pass them curious glances that made Sakura blush and find something else to do. Once when he and Gaara were by themselves, he asked, "How come you two are acting like nothing is going on? If I didn't already know, I wouldn't have a clue about you two."

Gaara scowled and crossed his arms. "That's the way Sakura wants it. She's worried that if people find out, they wouldn't believe she got her ambassador position for the right reason."

Kankuro raised his eyebrows. "I hadn't thought about that. That's right…That must suck for you, huh?"

"You have no idea," Gaara growled. "I'm hoping that after we've in Suna for a while she'll relax."

"Do you not see where she's coming from?" Kankuro asked. "I mean, even I get it. Well, maybe that's not saying much, with the way I think—" he stopped and went on in a different reaction. "People would definitely get ideas."

Gaara made a face. "I don't believe that." But with even Kankuro backing Sakura up, Gaara had to see that she was probably being smart. Dammit.

It didn't take long for them to reach the border of the forest. Before they started on the desert the group stopped at inn with some hot springs. The three men were happy that they could take a rest. Sakura was happy that she would finally get a chance to properly bathe. Kankuro was happy that he might get some action with some of the girls that worked there. And Gaara was looking forward to the whole separate rooms things—that meant privacy for him and Sakura.

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**Ahh…after all that time from my last update, and this is all I have to show for it. Crap. Well, I'm going to be cheery for today, because it is Christmas tomorrow. Yay Santa! Enjoy the holiday. I know I'm going to sleep through most of it.**


	16. Chapter 16

**AHA! To think I posted this so fast! Well, it felt fast. I hope. Not much to say before the story starts…so enjoy.**

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The minuet the group booked rooms, Sakura hurried off to hers, dropped off her things, and went straight to the hot springs. There were only two other women in the outdoor bath, and neither seemed interested in conversation. Sakura was grateful for that as she slipped into the water, wanting to think, not talk.

She sat on a natural stone seat in the wall and leaned her head back, closing her eyes. Being able to relax felt good. After a few moments, in which she felt her muscles relax, Sakura opened her eyes again.

So this was it. She was really going to Suna. She was now the Konoha ambassador.

She closed her eyes again and let the weight of that settle onto her. She was now responsible for the relations between two powerful villages. Sakura thought she would feel different. Like how you would always imagine you would feel older on your birthday. Was that immature?

Sakura smiled to herself and let her thoughts drift off. After a while she looked up and realized that the sky was completely dark. With a jerk, Sakura sat up. How long had she been in the bath? Had she fallen asleep? Running a wet hand through her hair, Sakura climbed out of the bath—and had to focus on not falling over. Whoops. The heat had gotten to her head.

Trying to shake it off, she carefully walked back to the changing room and quickly dried off with a towel, sliding into a robe. She went to her room, still feeling a little woozy. Just as she got to her door, a hand fell on the wide cuff of her sleeve. Turning around, she saw Gaara, but the motion made her loose balance and she stumbled back.

Gaara quickly caught her by the arm, giving her a strange look. "Sakura…?"

She tried to laugh it off and waved her hand. "Er, thanks."

"Are you alright…?" he asked.

"Fine, fine." Sakura realized he hadn't removed his hand and quickly glanced up and down the hallway, seeing it deserted. "Um, come in." She opened the door and ushered Gaara inside.

"Sakura, you're not still worried about…" Gaara stopped himself before he finished, thinking it was best not to bring it up. He awkwardly changed the subject. "You were in the baths for a while. I was about to ask one of the staff to go in and check on you."

Sakura smirked. "Well, thanks for that, because if I had stayed in any longer I probably would have passed out. I feel a little lightheaded from sitting in there for so long." She sat down by the table, gesturing for Gaara to do the same. "Were you waiting for me?"

"What else is there to do here?" he asked, earning an eye roll from Sakura.

"Thanks, that makes me feel so attractive," Sakura mumbled, putting her head down on the table, trying to make the flitty feeling go away.

"Still feeling dizzy?" Gaara asked, eyeing her. She just grumbled a response. After a few moments, she registered some shuffling noises and reluctantly picked up her head. She was greeted with the sight of Gaara pulling out two sleeping mats and setting them down on the floor.

"What are you doing?" Sakura asked.

"What does it look like?" Gaara questioned. "You're tired, and I'm hardly going to stay up if you're sleeping."

"No, that's not what I mean. Gaara, you can't sleep in here. You're sharing a room with Kankuro."

"There's no one saying I have to."

"_I _am."

"Sakura…" he grumbled. "We haven't slept together since…I can't remember when. And I already set them up," he added, as if that would finish the argument.

"This is what all my worries are about! Imagine if Yura or Hiro walked in right now, saw us sleeping together. It'd be a scandal."

"Fine." Gaara walked over to the door—and locked it. "Problem solved."

Sakura breathed out heavily from her nose. She opened her mouth to snap, then stopped herself. Did she want to argue? She missed Gaara. She missed having him close at night. And he did not want to have _another _fight. Lately, all they seemed to do was argue. That didn't bode well, so she decided she might as well stop now before she got either of them pissed off.

"Alright," she sighed, backing down. "But you better use every ounce of your training to get out of this room in the morning without getting noticed."

-----

Sakura was a little reluctant to leave the inn the next morning, but she could hardly say she wanted to stay another night. The group left late that in the morning. Everyone quickly fell into the pattern of their short little journey, and they reached the desert in a few days. Sakura noticed that the others all seemed to have their moods picked up by the thought of coming home and frowned to herself. Would she feel like eventually? She hadn't spoken to Tsunade about it, but she was pretty sure that she would have the ambassador position for a long time, so she would spending a great while in Suna. Sakura knew that she would always be loyal to Konoha, but she hoped that she would eventually feel at home at Suna. It would make her stay there much more bearable.

She was a little irritated that she was the only one having trouble adjusting to the desert. The guys didn't seem to have the slightest difficulty traveling over the dunes, didn't appear to get irritated at the heat or the sand. She tried not to let them know that she was having trouble. It was a little difficult, but Sakura thought she didn't do too bad of acting like she knew what she was doing (or so she kept telling herself).

As Subaru and his two teammates were setting up their tent for the night, Sakura sat on the edge of the camp, looking at the sky. Kankuro walked up behind her and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Checking out the stars. I can see a lot more in the desert."

"U-huh…" Kankuro didn't have much interest on speaking about stars. He was bored and wanted to talk, though. "What do you think about finally being at Suna?"

"Well, for one, we're not there yet. But I'm not sure. I don't know if I'm happy about it or not. I'm excited, definitely, but I'm not sure…I dunno." Sakura frowned. This was really all she ever said about her feelings, wasn't it? Why couldn't she decide? Well, she'd decide when she got there, surely.

She put it out of her mind as Kankuro wandered off and she turned her attention back to looking at the dark sky.

That morning Sakura was told they were expected to reach Suna at midday. A small surge of excitement and nervousness went through her, and she couldn't shake it. When Suna finally came into view, Sakura took a deep breath and followed the rest of the group to the front gates.

Apparently their group had been spotted, and news spread quickly of the Kazekage's arrival. By the time they reached Suna's threshold, an assembly of people had gathered. Sakura smirked to herself. Of course, when she and the Hokage had come, they only got a small 'hello' from the guards at the gates. Gaara, as it looked like, got his entire council and some others for his welcome. They converged on him, momentarily separating him from Sakura and the rest, all at once trying to tell him of all the things that had happened in his absence, tell him they missed him and were happy he was back, that he had some things to take care of, reminding him of things that were coming up. Sakura stayed back, until the words, 'ambassador?' and 'Temari?' popped up.

The moment the group realized that there was a new arrival they had never seen before—and who she must be—Sakura was suddenly swarmed upon. Alarmed at suddenly being the center of attention (and painfully aware she had not taken a shower in _quite _some time or brushed her hair), Sakura got fought over who got to shake hands with her first, being informed of all their names at once. She was greeted and welcomed by multiple people, and even received a few brief hugs.

Then Gaara slid in by her side and the group backed off, not daring to jostle or talk over him. "This is Sakura Haruno, and she will be the Konoha ambassador. She is Tsunade's apprentice, so she had a wide medical background. She will be aiding, and possibly reforming, Suna's hospital system, among other things."

Izumi, Gaara's advisor, managed to get to the front of the crowd. "Kazekage, allow me to show Miss Haruno the ambassador suite she will be staying in and show her around the village, and the hospital?"

"Ambassador suite?" Sakura echoed, blinking and turning to Gaara in time to see a shadow cross his face.

Damn. He hadn't thought of that. He just thought that Sakura would stay at his place, like her last visit.

Izumi laughed, misunderstanding her confusion. "Of course you get your own suite! We would hardly make you stay in some small inn room for as long as you'll be here."

His big beaming smile forced Sakura to smile back, if a little weakly. He took her arm, and after a quick, almost panicked glance at Gaara, she was dragged away through the crowd.

Sakura stumbled behind Izumi, surprised by his strong grip. Once they cleared the mob of people he released her, smiling apologetically. "I'm sorry about that," he said, "it's just that a lot of the people who work under Gaara are all boot-lickers—ah, don't tell them I said that. They're all power hungry, the lot of them, scrambling to get an in with him."

"An in?" Sakura questioned as he lead her down the street.

"Well, of course they're not going to get one," Izumi said, waving his hand. Sakura got the impression he didn't like any of the people back there. "The previous Kazekage would pick favorites, but it's not as if a few favors for our current Kazekage are going to get them special treatment, especially if that Kazekage is Gaara." The old man sighed. "To be honest, I think it would be best for you to watch your step. Some people on the council might take you as a threat, and I know some of them aren't in total agreement with our relationship with Konoha."

Sakura must have looked troubled, because when he glanced at her he blinked. "Oh! Look at me, blabbering away about all this stuff. I don't want to ruin your welcome, and I certainly didn't mean to reveal all those things. Forgot I said anything, Miss Haruno. We've reached the Kazekage building, I'll show you to your suite you'll be staying in."

They entered the lobby, Sakura remembering most of it. She even vaguely recognized the secretary sitting at the front desk who welcomed Izumi even as her curious eyes strayed on Sakura. Izumi went up the stairs and passed what Sakura remembered as Gaara's office, and up to the third floor that Sakura had never been on before, a few doors along the walls.

"This floor is all for ambassadors and messengers and the like who stay at Suna on official visits. You, my lucky lady," Izumi said, waving his finger at her, "get the largest and, in my opinion, the best set of rooms thanks to your position."

Sakura decided she liked Izumi, his quirky personality an interesting mix to his business-like manner. She got the impression he loved his job. He opened a door and stood aside as Sakura walked in. "Oh…"

The room wasn't what she expected. It wasn't that it was absolutely stunning and everything was glittery and made of gold, but it was still high class. The furniture looked expensive, but strangely still homey, and not like the kind you find in offices or waiting rooms. There was even a small kitchen, all shiny counters and shiny appliances, not something she expected to find in something supposed to be like a hotel room. Albeit it was a little tight it still looked functional.

Izumi stood quietly by the door, watching her appraise everything. Pleased that she seemed happily surprised, he cleared his throat and informed her he would wait down in the lobby to take her to the hospital while she took a look around, took a shower. Sakura nodded and moved into the next room, which must have been the bedroom. There was a wide window sitting opposite the bed, giving a view to the market street below surging with people. The bed was large, obviously made for a couple, with fluffy pillows and thick blankets. There was a vanity in the corner. Sakura eyed the door on the other wall and crossed the room, opening it. This was the bathroom, all tan-white tiles. The thing that caught her eye was the giant tub against the wall. It was lined with all sorts of bubble bath, lotions, and shampoos (had Temari had a hand in this?) along the thick rim. It even looked like it might have power jets.

Sakura smiled to herself, trying not to grin like an idiot and jump in glee. Looks like ambassador position had its perks!

-------

Sakura felt a little jilted that her first experience of that beautiful bath had to be cut short because she didn't want to keep Izumi waiting, but she'd be damned if she kept walking around with grit under her nails and her hair unwashed. She did feel more relaxed when she met Izumi in the lobby, which helped a little.

They walked back onto the street, Izumi leading the way to the hospital. It looked the standard kind of hospital, if a little small. Izumi walked right past the main lobby and ushered her into an elevator. "I'm bringing you to see the chief doctor here," Izumi informed her, pressing a button. "I have to get back to the Kazekage, but I'm sure that you'll be in safe hands with her. Her name's Kyoko Hanijima."

The doors slid open and the two of them walked up to a door, with the chief doctor's name on a plaque across the top. With a brief knock, Izumi opened the door. A large—if cluttered—office was on the other side, dominated by a large desk and file cabinets. A woman with glasses sat behind it, going over papers. She glanced up at the two of them and after a moment said, "Izumi…strange to see you here. Did the Kazekage get a sunburn during his travels and now needs my immediate medical attention? Or perhaps he tripped and stubbed his toe."

Sakura blinked. She didn't think she had ever heard someone speak like that about Gaara. It was sort of…funny.

Izumi scowled, his feathers ruffled. "How many times do I have to tell you that our Kazekage deserves respect! You should not be talking about him like that!"

Kyoko rolled her eyes. "Oh please, if you're annoyed about that you should hear the things I call you." Izumi drew himself up and opened his mouth, but Kyoko didn't let him speak. "So, anyway. What are you doing here?"

Izumi took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. "I've brought you a godsend, something you've been complaining about from the time you got promoted."

"What, a raise? A bigger office? A better hospital? A vacation?"

"Would you stop interrupting me?!" Izumi snapped, about to blow his top. Kyoko sat back in her chair, smirking. The advisor calmed himself down, letting out a sigh. "If you would let me finish, I was going to introduce you to the new ambassador from Konoha."

Kyoko flicked her eyes to Sakura over her glasses, seeing to notice her for the first time. "So? What's she to me?"

"She's Tsunade's apprentice," Izumi said with a smirk, sure this would knock her speechless. "She's here to work at the hospital."

Kyoko stared for a moment, then blinked. "Seriously?"

"Yes," Izumi chirped, not bothering to hide his glee.

"Come here so I can get a better look at you," she ordered. Sakura obediently took a step forward. She was a little afraid about upsetting this woman—she was like a brunette Tsunade...only more irritable. Kyoko continued to stare at her. "I went to one of the Hokage's seminars not too long ago. And she mentioned you…I just thought you'd be…less _pink_."

Sakura tried to keep herself from making a face, not sure if she was insulted. It was quite apparent by now that this woman didn't quite care what she said about whom. But, less pink? What did that even mean?

"Well, anyway, if what Tsunade said was true, I'm sure you'll be brilliant. I'm not too familiar with chakra healing, but I know you must be talented for Tsunade to send you over here." Kyoko moved to get out of her chair with a heave and a grunt, and for the second time Sakura had to fight to keep her face straight. Kyoko was pregnant. Very, very pregnant.

The woman walked around her desk and held out her hand. Sakura shook it—or rather, Kyoko gave her a brisk shake. "I'll get you started right away." The older woman turned to the door and saw Izumi. Her face fell, and she said dryly, "What are you still doing here? I have work to do. Get out."

------

Sakura let out a sigh of relief when she closed the suite door behind her. It was well past dark, and finding her way to the Kazekage building from the hospital by herself was not fun.

Kyoko had put her right to work. Sakura knew plenty about healing, but the chief doctor seemed to want to put Sakura in an important position—like ordering around other people and figuring out staffing. Sakura had not experience in that department. As soon as Kyoko found out, she went off to do other things and told Sakura to introduce herself to the rest of the staff, and heal what she could. She said that she would teach Sakura about 'being a boss' when she had more time.

Turns out that the Suna hospital staff wasn't too happy about having another person join the ranks, especially from far away, mysterious Konoha. As Sakura went around checking rooms, she healed a broken leg someone had just gotten put into a cast, after the patient had been told he'd have to wait a few weeks for it to heal. The patient was overjoyed, and some of the staff seemed impressed—but others had just thought she was showing off. A lot of them were hostile to Sakura, not happy as she took care of _their _patients with injuries normal ways of medicine couldn't 'fix'. Sure, she had some friendly conversations with some of the nurses that seemed happy to have her, but being subjected to the constant feeling she wasn't wanted had not been good for her mood.

Sakura prayed that their animosity towards her would fade. That had not been a good first experience for her at Suna. An ambassador was supposed to look strong, represent her village, but if her own coworkers wouldn't accept her…how was the general population of Suna going to react?

She sat down on one of the chairs, surprised at how depressed that made her. Being ostracized like this remind her back when she was a kid, how everyone would bully her. Ino had made them stop. But there was no Ino here in Suna. She didn't have any friends here.

Sakura shook her head and stood. No. She was not going to mope. Didn't she just say that an ambassador was supposed to be strong? How was sitting around feeling sorry for herself going to help? It wasn't. Sakura bit her lip. She needed to get her mind off this. What could she do?

Gaara. She could see him, couldn't she? Sakura wasn't sure how their relationship was going to work out now that they were under the public eye and she wanted to be discreet, but that didn't mean she couldn't see him. If he was with people, she'd leave. That is, if he was even in his office…it was pretty late, and she certainly wasn't going to show up on his doorstep.

Sakura walked out of her rooms and headed for the stairs. Doing nothing wasn't going to help. She gave a quick knock on the door, but received no answer. She hesitated, then opened it and stuck her head in.

Gaara was spread out on the couch, an arm thrown over his eyes. He looked asleep, but when he heard the door open he announced, "I'm busy. Go away."

She smiled and closed the door behind her. "Do you really mean that?" she asked teasingly. "You don't _look _busy."

Gaara turned and looked at her. "Sakura. I thought you were someone else."

"I would hope so. I'd be pretty insulted if you snapped at me to leave." Sakura moved over to sit by him, pleased. She already felt better. "What did you do after I left?"

Gaara shrugged, sitting up to give her room. "Listened to my group of idiots and dealt with a mountain of paperwork."

"You know, I helped Tsunade with her paperwork. I'm sure that if you needed help I could deal with some of it," she moved to get off the couch. Gaara grabbed her arm and held her back.

"That's touching, but I don't think that's a good idea—you not being from this village an all. If Izumi found out he'd have a hissy fit, and I'd rather not get him to do more than once a week."

"Oh, right."

"And," Gaara said quietly, drawing the word out, putting his arm around her. "I don't really have paperwork on my mind right now."

"Gaara—er…" Sakura paused as he pulled her into his lap. She missed this, but…oh hell. What had she expected when she had decided to come to him? She wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he kissed her, letting herself relax. She couldn't deny this felt good, and she could really use a pick-me-up right now. Melting into Gaara, she let him continue for a few more moments, but then pulled away.

"Sakura…" he grumbled, pressing his forehead against hers. "Not again…"

"You said last time that I was leading you on," she said quietly. "And I don't want to do that—and, if someone walks in…me being on top of you and all will be hard to explain."

"I got a lock installed on my door," Gaara told her, making her frown at his tone. She opened her mouth, but he kissed her quiet. "And I _really _want you to lead me on," he said, kissing her again.

Sakura blushed. She really didn't want to stop, but… "Just kissing, alright?" she whispered.

"Whatever you want," Gaara told her as he got up to lock the door.

----

**There. I actually got some plot out of this chapter. Yay me. I'm not sure how I'm going to deal with Sakura's new job, I want it to seem professional, and yet I have no clue what doctors deal with, so I intend to fluff over that (yes, poor planning and bad writing skills). Please excuse that. I'm also working on making Sakura less of a prude, which I'm sure all of you have been waiting for since this story began, and have Gaara to be less of a bossy sex manic—as so many of you have mentioned.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Okay, does anyone know how to stop this annoying repeating thing that this is doing? I can't figure it out, and I am tired of going through my chapters and seeing the first sentence repeated. ANYWAY. So, here you go, the next chapter…not much of a fore note to mention…so enjoy.**

**-----**

The sun falling across her face woke Sakura up, and she rolled over, pulling the blanket up to cover her face. After a moment, she groaned and sat up, looking for a clock. Seven. Kyoko had told her to show up at eight …what was she going to do for an hour?

Throwing her feet out of bed, Sakura ruffled her hair and looked about. Her pack lay in the corner by the door…she hadn't put her stuff away. Picking herself off the mattress, Sakura sighed and walked over to her pack.

After that was put aside, she wandered into the kitchen area, wondering whether or not it would be stocked. She opened a cabinet and was pleased to see that it was. Pulling out a loaf of bread, Sakura made herself some toast, wondering how long it would take to walk to the hospital.

She arrived a bit early, and quickly found Kyoko in her office. She was drinking out of a mug, and before Sakura could think she asked, "You're not having caffeine, are you? That's not good for the baby."

Kyoko gave her a glare over her glasses. "It's apple juice. And don't you think I know about how to take care of myself?"

Sakura blinked. "Oh, um. Sorry."

Her new boss just rolled her eyes and took another sip as she pulled up a newspaper to look at.

Sakura waited for her to tell her what to do, but she didn't say anything. After a moment, Sakura asked, "How far along are you?"

"Seven months," Kyoko responded curtly.

"Should you be working so much? I mean, you sent me off before you left, and you're here before I even arrive. That's almost the whole day."

Kyoko sighed and put her mug down. "Do you think anyone else can run this hospital? They need me here."

"But—"

"I intend to train you as my replacement," she said breezily.

"I—er, what?"

Kyoko shrugged. "Well, of course you'll have help. Since you have no experience with business of hospitals, I can't expect you to learn that in a month. But I intend for you to handle most of the medical work, since you can do it so easily. Just image," she murmured, "telling a man he has to wait for weeks for his leg to heal, and then you just come along and heal it just like that?" Sakura opened her mouth and Kyoko smiled like a cat. "I heard about that little incident, yes. Sounds like some of the nurses weren't too happy. Some even came to me personally to complain about you."

Sakura scowled in outrage. "What? I did nothing to upset them! They're—"

"Being stupid and childish, I know," Kyoko finished. "And that's exactly what I told them. I can't stand whiners, especially little bitchy ones."

Sakura blinked at her little speech, but kept her mouth shut. Interrupting her would not be a good idea.

Kyoko pushed herself out of her chair. "Today you'll be dealing completely with business. I've already managed my work so I can deal with you all day." Sakura wondered why she said it like it was a great chore to do.

-----

Sakura was let out for a half hour to have lunch. Unsure on where to go, she decided she should eat back in her rooms until she got a better feel for Suna. She walked into the lobby of the Kazekage building and was stopped by the secretary.

"Hello. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to welcome you yesterday. My name's Kimi Tatsuya. I'm the secretary here."

"Oh, hello."

"What are you going to be doing here at Suna?"

"I'll be helping out the hospital."

"Oh!" her face lit up and she smiled. "That means you must have met my aunt, then? Kyoko Hanijima?"

Sakura quickly had to keep herself from gaping. This bubbly, sweet, innocent girl was related to her hard-ass boss? Was that even possible? "Oh, really? Eh, yes, I'm working as her replacement."

"Replacement? Oh, for the baby, right? She's huge, isn't she? Whenever I see her she just seems to get bigger!" She gave a little happy giggle and cocked her head at Sakura. "Did you come back for lunch? I could you bring you to this small restaurant I always to go, it's more like a café, really."

"Oh..?" Sakura really didn't want to eat with a person she hardly knew, but she could hardly say no. That girl's smile was overwhelming. "Um, sure. That would be nice."

The walk to the restaurant was brief, and once they got some food, Sakura decided she should go there more often. The people were nice, if her waiter a little too interested with her status as the ambassador and her home village. Sakura didn't have to do much to keep up the conversation, Kimi chatted away the entire the time, asking questions and telling her about Suna.

It wasn't like Sakura was dying to get out of there, but she did eat a little more quickly than she usually would and thanked Kimi for showing her around, leaving for the hospital. Kimi saw her off with a smile, seeming happy to have shared some time with the ambassador.

When Sakura got back to the hospital, Kyoko got her right back to work. She taught her how to file (Tsunade had made her work in the Konoha hospital sometimes, and she knew how to do paperwork, but apparently Kyoko had a specific _system _of doing things that made Sakura's way 'wrong'). She had light conversation with some nurses on duty in the records room and hopefully won a few friends.

She was surprised she didn't realize how much time was passing, but before she knew it Kyoko told her she could go home. It was dark by the time she walked out onto the street, and decided to swing by Gaara's office. After a quick knock he called for her to come in, then smirked when he saw who it was. "Hello," he said.

Sakura smiled back. "Hey. What's up?"

He shrugged and dropped the pen he had been writing with. "I think my hand is going to fall off with all the writing I've been doing. I can't believe Izumi let so much pile up. I used to think he was productive."

Sakura walked up to the desk and sat down, leaning over to grab his hand. A quick flow of chakra flowed from hers to his, and she let go. Gaara blinked in surprise. "It doesn't hurt anymore. Thanks."

"No problem." Sakura shook her head, still smiling. She pushed off the desk and she yawned. "I'm going to bed now. Have a good night."

"What?" Gaara questioned.

"I'm going to bed," she repeated.

"But, we…" Gaara didn't know what to say. She couldn't leave. They hadn't done anything!

Sakura frowned. She was worried he would be like this. "We can't meet every single night. You know I'm worried about someone finding out."

Gaara furrowed his brow. No. He wanted to hold her and kiss her—he hadn't seen her all day, and now she was walking out of his office after hardly any time together. "You're already here," he argued.

"I don't want this to become a habit," she said, awkwardly.

"Then how are we supposed to get close, if you won't let me? You can't just be here, right in front of me, and not expect me to want to hold you. You're being over-cautious."

"You're being stubborn."

"And you're not?"

She breathed heavily through her nose and walked back over to the desk, leaning on it. "No, I'm not."

She leaned in intending to give him a kiss, their bodies safely separated by the desk. Gaara had different plans. As soon as their lips touched, he swiftly grabbed her arms, yanking her across the desk and into his lap. She yelped, partly in surprise, partly in the discomfort from the awkward position and tried to brace herself against the high back of the chair. The sudden movement was apparently too much for it to handle, and it flipped over, sending Sakura and Gaara sprawling.

She somehow ended up on the floor, stomach down, with Gaara on top of her. "Ow…good job, Kazekage. That was really smooth."

She felt Gaara shrug. "It might have worked. And besides, now I can touch you."

"All you're doing is squishing me." She squirmed, rolling onto her back. Gaara made sure he stayed on top her, smirking down at her. She didn't return it. "This isn't romantic in the least, Gaara. I'm angry."

His smirk widened into a grin. "You kiss harder when you're angry." And there he decided to end the conversation, the same way he usually did.

Sakura didn't respond the way he wanted, and had to work hard to get her to kiss back. She reacted out of habit, opening her mouth to him, hand sliding up to the back of his head. He just felt so good…She drifted for a moment, then remembered they were arguing. "No," she said, muffled, grabbing his shoulders and pushing him up. "This is not going to happen every single time. You are not going to get what you want whenever you want. If I say I don't want to, I don't want to."

Gaara saw she was serious. He was frustrated that she didn't want to do the same as him—why didn't she? Didn't she like it as much as he did? He fought back a growl. He was getting really aggravated that their relationship was going _nowhere. _And with Sakura's worry about being in public, it didn't look like _anything _was going to happen soon. They weren't even _in_ public and she was worrying about getting found!

It wasn't that he was annoyed about how she said she didn't want to—if that was true, he would—probably—back off. But he could tell she wanted to! He had felt her kiss back and the way she pressed against him before she pulled away. She was holding back for some reason.

He spoke without thinking.

"Are you just saying that because you don't want to have sex with me?" he demanded.

Sakura blinked and stared at him. That completely threw her off. What had he just said? "W-what?"

He glared down at her. "You keep trying to stop any progression that I try to make."

"We—we've talked about this," Sakura stuttered, bringing herself up on her elbows. She felt terribly venerable with Gaara above her like that, hands bracing himself up on either side her shoulders, face dark and angry.

"Yes, I know. I thought you…we would work on that. Instead of doing anything about it, you're pushing me away. You said you were scared. Is that it? Are you afraid of me?"

Sakura didn't know what to do. She felt cornered, threatened—not physically, certainly. He wasn't going to hurt her. But his anger was terrible. She wanted to shrink back—but there was no where to go, and she wasn't going to let him push her around. Her emotions welled up. "It isn't you that scares me, Gaara! The idea of it—it's a big step," she tumbled over the words, embarrassed and worried she wouldn't stop. "I don't want it to ruin things. I like what we have, and I don't—I don't know. It's just, I'm not sure about you…" she trailed off, unsure.

"What aren't you sure about?" he pushed.

"I don't want to give away my virginity to someone who hasn't—!" Sakura clamped her mouth shut. As soon as she realized what she was thinking, she stopped. She stared at somewhere on Gaara's throat, unable to look him in the face.

"What? Hasn't what?" Gaara demanded, the words not clicking in his head like they had in hers.

_Hasn't said I love you. _Sakura blinked, then swallowed. The thought had never occurred to her before, but now she realized it was true. She glanced up at Gaara and opened her mouth, not sure what to say. He was still glaring down at her, angry and frustrated. The words faded from her throat. No. She was not going to bring this up when he was like this.

So how to get out? This was already on the verge of a fight—were they already there?—and she didn't want to make it worse. It wasn't hard to make her voice sound frail and tight. "Gaara—I, please, I don't want to do this," she said, looking at him now. The emotion that was already there, and Gaara couldn't miss this. "I don't want to cause a fight, but I can't explain this to you when you're angry. Please."

Gaara looked at her, and had to look away. Dammit. This wasn't the way to do this—pushing her around. She sounded upset. When she looked at him like that, he felt like crap. With an annoyed sigh, he got off her and stood up, even giving her a hand to help her to her feet. "Fine," he grumbled, "all right." She tried to catch his eye, but he wouldn't at her. "It's fine. Go to bed. I probably should too." He sounded tired.

Sakura walked towards the door, then turned back to Gaara. He was looking out the window behind his desk moodily. She hurried back and gave him a hug, only getting a low grumble in response, and scurried out.

Gaara waited until he heard the door click behind Sakura, then plunked down in his chair. How could she make him feel so tired? He leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes.

It was just getting harder for him. Every time he saw her, every time he was with her… he wanted her. It had been like that since the first time he asked Sakura if he could sleep with her. He tried to understand where she was coming from when she said she didn't want to…but he couldn't ignore what he was feeling, either.

Sakura got dressed, hardly thinking about what she was doing. She was too preoccupied with what had happened in Gaara's office. Was her realization true, even though she had never thought of it before? _Why _had it never occurred to her before?

_Love._

It was obviously one of the most important things to hold together a relationship, if not the most important. So why had she never really wondered about it? Sakura shook her head. She saw it nearly every day, plastered on Gaara's forehead.

Maybe that was it. She knew, vaguely, about his past. She had always been careful about talking about feelings with Gaara, because she knew it was a sensitive subject. And love…well; it was definitely the most sensitive one of them all. Sakura chewed her lip as she pulled on her short night dress. She wasn't sure how to proceed. Did this change anything? Not exactly. She still wasn't ready to have sex.

Sakura fell onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. Gaara had accused her off trying to keep their relationship from going anywhere. Was that true? Was she sabotaging it, with her constant worry of being found? It wasn't that she planned on keeping it a secret forever. If they managed to keep it under wraps and stayed together for things to get serious, or so long as they had been together long enough, Sakura thought maybe then it would be safe to let the secret out, once she had established she had earned her position to the public. But would that put too much of a strain on their relationship? Was it foolish to have thought Gaara wouldn't have minded keeping the fact they were together quiet?

Sakura frowned and got under the covers. If she kept thinking about this, she was going to drive herself crazy. She would deal with it later. Right now, she needed sleep.

----

Sakura was woken roughly with a shake. She opened her eyes, confused, and saw Kimi over her. She was breathing hard as if she had been running. "I'm sorry to wake you up," she said breathlessly, pushing her hair out of her face. "I just got an urgent message. Something's happened. Kyoko said it's an emergency. The Kazekage's being alerted too."

"What happened?" Sakura demanded, quickly getting out of bed. Her clock declared it was early morning.

"I don't know. She said to get to the Kazekage's office immediately." Kimi quickly handed Sakura a robe, and the two of them hurriedly trotted down the steps to the second floor. Sakura dragged on the robe as she scurried down the hallway, seeing that Gaara's office door was open. The two of them practically ran in.

Gaara stood at his desk, Izumi at his side and Kyoko in front of them. They all turned to look at the two come in, hardly sparing a glance at Sakura's nightie. She realized Kyoko was wearing a nightgown, her belly giving a great swell at her midsection. Izumi looked ruffled and worried. "What's happened?" Sakura demanded.

Gaara spoke first, sounding terribly serious. "A nearby village has suffered from a massive landslide—it's nearly destroyed the village. We need to get all the help we can over there to rescue people. A runner just came in, saying this happened a little more than an hour ago. We need people over there _now._"

"Sakura, you're being sent over immediately, along with a few people in Suna who know healing. Half the hospital staff is getting ready now, but they aren't ninjas. They won't be able to travel like you."

"I'll be ready in three minuets," Sakura said, dashing out.

Sakura took off from the village with five other healers, all carrying packs filled with medical and emergency supplies. They didn't talk. They were accompanied by a large group of Suna ninjas, all dispatched for strength and general support, because it was expected they'd have to drag many people out from other the crushed earth and stabilize the village.

Sakura prayed they got there in time. Every second they took running across the desert, people could be dying. Finally, they reached the village, situated on more soil than sand, and placed up against a set of small cliffs. Some of them had collapsed, throwing their earth all across the village.

When they finally got to the threshold of the village, some people rushed out to them. Sakura took charge and demanded they explain what happened to here, where the most people were. As soon as she heard enough, she barked out orders. No one questioned her taking charge.

Sakura's strength was a great asset to moving the dirt from the landslide, but as more people were freed, she had to take a step back and focus on healing people. She was the one with the most chakra and medical knowledge.

Sakura didn't know how long she worked, but the sun was high in the sky by the time the normal medical staff arrived. They swiftly set up tents and began to organize. Sakura dealt with the people in most danger, healing them just enough to stabilize them so others could handle them. She couldn't spare any strength on healing cuts and scrapes, or even broken bones. Get them away from death, move on to the next one.

The parade of victims didn't seem to stop. Sakura tied a rag around her forehead to keep the sweat out of her eye. She accepted glasses of water from unknown faces, downed them in one gulp, and went back to work.

There were some people that couldn't be saved. When Sakura saw the first few bodies being carried by, she stared. But then there was a groan of pain from next to her and she didn't look up again. She heard a few wails and screams, not sure if they came from victims or from family members who were left behind. She blocked them off, getting tunnel vision. Person after person was carted in before her. Some of them were unconscious. Others were trying to suppress groans and howls—others didn't bother. Some were completely silent, maybe in shock.

It was dark by the time someone realized how long Sakura was working. It must have been a staff member from the hospital, because he called her by her name. Sakura at first tried to push him away when he grabbed her arm, but realized she was too weak to make him move. "You need to rest," he ordered. "You're going to kill yourself. I'll take over for you."

"No, I'm fine," Sakura protested.

"Your skin's gray, and you look exhausted. Take a rest."

"No, I—"

"With you're exhaustion, you risk making a mistake. Go lie down," he ordered. Sakura obeyed.

The next day had the same pattern. Except this time, when Sakura felt exhaustion coming, she grabbed a nurse and put her on her shift as she found somewhere to rest. The third day Sakura really began to feel the strain. Most of the people had now been rescued, and now had to battle dehydration along with other injuries, since their water supply had been knocked out. She knew she was pushing herself hard, and could see in the eyes of the others that they worried over her. She stopped trying to argue when they told her to rest, merely walked away and found somewhere else that needed help. She did try to listen to her body and not push it _too _hard. If she collapsed, she would only cause more problems, and take out their main medical force all at once.

----

Late in the third day, Sakura woke up in a tent, not remembering having falling asleep. She pushed herself up, only to have to stop herself once the world started to spin. A hand pushed her down, a voice told her to stay still.

She blinked and tried to find the source. She was surprised to see Gaara standing over her. "Gaara?" she asked stupidly. "What are you doing here?"

"I arrived yesterday afternoon, once I made arrangements for my leave," he said distractedly, not really wanting to talk about it. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," she said. "But why are you here?"

He gave her a look. "The soil here is sandy. Don't you think it would be helpful to have me around to move the ground?"

"Oh," she said. It made a lot of sense when she thought of it. He must have been the reason the excavation went so quickly.

"Lie back down," he ordered. She hadn't realized she had been pushing herself up.

"No, I have to get back to work," she argued. "I only meant to sit down and rest."

Gaara shook his head. "You must have passed out. You're not going back to work. I've been in the medical tents; all the serious injuries have been taking care of. Now all the medical staff is helping the people recuperate. You can rest."

She took this in, slowly. For the past three days she hadn't checked in on how the whole operation was going, merely focusing on the people in front of her. "Everyone's…alright?" she asked. Gaara nodded. Sakura hesitated. "How high's the death count?"

He scowled. "Not nearly as bad as it would have been if we hadn't acted so quickly."

Gaara hadn't given her a straight answer, but she wasn't sure she wanted him to. She sat up, running a hand over her face, grimacing when she felt the sweat in her hair. She must look hideous. Glancing down, she saw that the skin on her arms had a gray tinge to them. She tried to put it out of her mind. "I can at least help rebuild the village. I can help…"

Gaara glared at her. "You will do no such thing. You look half dead and are not leaving this tent until I say so." Sakura opened her mouth to argue, but he cut her off, "Did you forget I'm the Kazekage? I could do a lot worse. Now get some rest."

Sakura kept her mouth closed, trying to calm herself down. She was still hyped up, no matter how tired she was, still burning to help people. She fought to tell herself that everything was going to be okay now, and that she wasn't needed.

She bit her lip when she thought of the bodies she had seen, of the few people who ended up on her table that she couldn't save and had to put under so they weren't in pain when they passed. Her eyes stung. How did their families feel? Did they hate her for not being able to save their loved ones? Were some of them grateful she kept them from suffering?

"Sakura, whatever you're thinking about, stop it right now," Gaara told her. He could see how upset she looked.

Sakura turned her eyes to him. He had saved just as many lives as she had, if not more. He must have seen plenty of death today, but he didn't look like he was going to break down. Maybe death affected him differently than it did her, but at that moment she admired him so much. She took in how his usually perfectly preened appearance was now mussed, hair ruffled and skin smudged with dirt, his clothes wrinkled. And after all that, he was still worried about her.

She lifted her head up to meet his gaze. She felt so tired…but she needed to tell him this. She opened her mouth, hesitated, then said, "Gaara…I think I love you."

At least, that's what she tried to say. All Gaara heard was an incoherent mumble as he darted forward to catch her as she fell forward. He looked at her face, alarmed, and saw that she had passed out.

He didn't know to be worried about this or happy that this meant she was getting more rest, but he laid her back on the small cot, grabbing a blanket and settling it over her. He pushed the hair out of her face and tried to smooth it back gently, then stood back for a moment, taking her in. After a few seconds, he sighed and walked out of the tent to get back to work, throwing a look over his shoulder to take a last glance at her.

----

**I switched gears in the middle of this chapter, not to sure I handled that smoothly. I'm took a stab at trying to be more serious and I think I could still use a little more work at trying to get the mood. I did add a little certain thing that hasn't been directly spoken of here, the first time 'love' has truly popped up. A little late, I guess. And when Sakura finally manages to tell Gaara, poor kid doesn't have a clue. I blame him for being an idiot, and not the fact I'm writing this.**


	18. Chapter 18

**I have mastered the art of making a long chapter with little actual material in it. Interesting, no? It looks so long (to me, anyway) and yet when I went over it…not a lot of things happened. Strange…I seem to have defied the laws of logic. Oh well, hopefully you guys still love me.**

**------**

Within a week, thanks to the collective hard work of Suna ninjas and others, the village—Chiba, Sakura was told—was stable enough for some of the help to leave. Chiba wasn't in full repair, but now it was able to pull itself together and stand on its own. Sakura was reluctant to leave, seeing so many things she could help with, but Gaara wouldn't have her stay behind. She didn't have the energy to argue.

She returned back to her usual schedule the day after they got back to Suna. She had forged friendships with the staff that had gone to Chiba to help, and earned the respect of the others, if it was grudging. Everyone who worked at the hospital obviously did it to help people, and they couldn't dismiss Sakura's work at Chiba, even if they disliked her. Kyoko had given her a brief congratulations, grumbling over how in her current condition she hadn't been able to go along. The moment didn't last long. Just as Sakura thanked her, Kyoko shoved a folder in her hands and directed her to a patient's room.

She didn't see much of Gaara in the next few days. She did see Izumi every now and then, and they shared light chat, and of course she saw Kimi every time she left and came in the Kazekage building.

She was surprised at how easy it was to fall into the pattern of days. Go to hospital, work. Break for lunch. Come back, work some more. Wait until Kyoko got irritated or tired of you, leave. Go to bed. Sakura was surprised she didn't mind the lack of time to herself, besides her one day off on Saturday. She enjoyed working. She made friends with the nurses and doctors. After two weeks at Suna, they began to invite her along to spend time with them. It was nice.

The only thing bothering her was that she wasn't seeing Gaara. She remembered what she had tried to say to Gaara back in the tent at Chiba, and that he didn't hear. Every time she thought of it, it made her embarrassed. She didn't know if she was happy or upset that Gaara hadn't gotten the message. She half wished that she could plan some romantic moment to tell him, but then she laughed at herself—and the other half cringed at the thought. She wasn't sure what she was so worried about at first. But the more she thought of it, the more she realized she was worried about how Gaara would react. Before, she had been half-delirious and hadn't given a thought to what Gaara would think. Now that she knew her feelings, she wasn't sure to do with them.

She didn't bother imagining it. She knew she secretly hoped Gaara would say it back, but she felt naïve and foolish for thinking that Gaara would come out and say 'I love you'…because Gaara wasn't like that. He wasn't one to say sweet things to her, never mind say something so...she didn't know. She was afraid he might say that such an idea was stupid, or pointless, and Sakura wasn't ready to have her confession trampled on.

"Why do you look so gloomy?" a voice asked.

Sakura blinked and looked up, seeing her new friend Akiri, a nurse with her hair up in a ponytail, watching her. "Hmm?"

"You look depressed. And you were sighing," she informed her.

"Like a lovesick girl," Haruhi, another nurse, chimed in, laughing lightly. "Is our little Sakura having man-troubles?"

"Not really," Sakura shrugged. She could hardly come out and say that she was worrying over the fact she was in love with their Kazekage—the thought of the gossip made her shiver.

"Oh, what, you want one?" Haruhi waggled her eyebrows. "I know a few guys that might be able to handle you pushing them around. Sturdy enough for even you." Sakura wasn't going to wonder in depth by what exactly she meant by that and just chuckled. "I mean it. I could get you a guy, if you wanted one. Just give me your preferences."

Akiri rolled her eyes. "That's because she knows practically every man in Suna—_personally," _she said. Haruhi glared at her. "Oh, don't act like that isn't true. You've managed to get with both of my brothers, don't think I don't know."

Sakura was a little interested on how this conversation would develop, but she hoped that maybe if she left early enough she might be able to catch Gaara. She excused herself, leaving the two nurses bickering, and hurried to the Kazekage building. When she walked up to the office door, she paused, listening. Voices could just be heard from inside. Sakura frowned in disappointment. She wanted to be alone with him. Unhappily, she went up to her rooms.

At the hospital the next day, Sakura was put to cleaning up a room a patient had just vacated, piling plants and left behind cards onto a wheeling table. She was almost done when there was a noise across the room. Surprised, Sakura turned around. Gaara leaned against the door frame, smirking at her.

"Gaara? What are you doing here?" she asked. Gaara moved into the room, closing the door behind him. "I mean, I'm happy to see you, but…"

"Worried that people will notice me visiting you?" he questioned, walking easily across the room. "Don't worry, I'm here for medical attention."

Sakura blinked in alarm. "What—where?" She looked him over quickly, the doctor in her taking over. "I don't see anything…"

Gaara chuckled and held up a hand. "Paper cut," he said innocently.

Sakura's face dropped, her worried look turned to a scowl. "Gaara, you've got to be kidding me," she said, even as she saw a line of red on his ring finger. Sighing, she took it into her hand and quickly healed it. "I have other patients to be attending to, and can't be at your beck and call every time you stubbed your toe."

Gaara hadn't expected her to be so grumpy. He responded by mounting his own defense, saying, "Oh, is that why your busy cleaning this room, and not taking care of anyone?" Sakura's scowl deepened, but Gaara didn't let her say anything. "All I wanted to do was see you, not piss you off."

Sakura closed her mouth sharply, a bit hurt by the tone in his voice. She shouldn't have snapped at him. She didn't want this to become a fight. "Sorry," she told him. "I was just worried about you, and finding out you were just joking wasn't nice." She paused as she watched Gaara relax, then flicked her eyes to the clock over the door. "Um, I really did mean it when I said I had people to look after. My shift starts in two minutes."

Gaara frowned. "But, Sakura, we haven't seen each other for a while…I was hoping…"

"I know," Sakura said, almost whining. "I want that too." She searched for something to do. "I get off not too late tomorrow night. We could have dinner then."

It wasn't what Gaara had been expecting or hoping for, but that didn't mean he wouldn't like it. And dinner meant late at night. Which meant that Sakura wouldn't be worried about people spotting them…they'd be inside, alone…

Sounded good.

"Alright. Tomorrow night then."

Sakura smiled up at him. Gaara quickly leaned in for a kiss before she could protest and pulled away, then dipped in again. Sakura reluctantly pulled away. "I have work to do," she muttered unhappily, and urged him out the door.

----

The next day Sakura was surprised to get yet another visitor at the hospital. This time it was Kankuro. He smiled at her, not too nicely. Sakura frowned at him. "What do you want?"

"Got a message from Gaara," he said, not put off in the least by her snappy tone. "Late last night, an important diplomat arrived. Gaara got forced into a meeting with him that will probably last late today. He wanted me to tell you he probably wouldn't be able to make your special little _rendezvous_," he said with a nasty smile. "But he might be able to make it later, if you still want to see him."

Sakura frowned, put out. She had really been looking forward to their date. "Oh. Um, sure, of course I'd like to see him later."

Kankuro eyed her. "You going to tell me what he wanted to see you for?" he leered. "Was it a little tryst? Perhaps my little brother isn't so young after all…"

"Kankuro, get out before I break your neck."

"Aw, you wouldn't."

"I could heal it in a second and then break it again. Don't think I wouldn't."

Something in her tone made Kankuro skitter out of her sight.

Sakura was slightly depressed for the rest of the day. She informed Kyoko that she wouldn't be leaving as early as she had planned. When her shift ended it was just getting dark, and she tried to rally herself. She was going to get to see him anyway. Just for not as long. She shook off her sulky attitude. She _was_ going to have a good night.

On her way back to the building, Sakura swung by the market to grab some ingredients for a dessert. She didn't know what Gaara would like, so she decided to make something she had been craving lately—brownies. Who could say no to brownies?

---

Gaara slipped into Sakura's suite late, not sure if she was asleep or not. He saw her in the kitchen area, back to him, humming quietly to herself. She had an apron on and was apparently stirring something. Feeling a little devilish, he tried to surprise her, carefully treading up to her, masking his chakra. Once he was close enough, he leaned up to her ear and whispered, "Boo."

Sakura yelped and swung around, lashing out with her stirring spoon like it was a kunai, flinging chocolate dough everywhere. Gaara caught it hastily, feeling chocolate splat onto him. She blinked when she saw who it was. "Gaara!" she snapped, slapping his chest. "What the hell are you doing? You scared me!"

Gaara couldn't keep back his smile. "And you're only defense is a stirring spoon?" Sakura pursed her lips, feeling heat rise to her face. She was embarrassed he had managed to sneak up on her—some ninja she was. "You have chocolate on you," Gaara said.

"Do I?" she was distracted for a moment, glancing down at herself. The spoon had been full when she had whipped it around, and now the results were all over her and Gaara. "So do you," she mumbled, licking her lip and smiling at the flavor.

Gaara's eyes zoned in on her tongue, and he dived in for a kiss, gripping her elbows. He pulled away, saw a glob on her cheek, and promptly licked it off. Sakura squirmed and stepped back, blushing. "I'm not a plate," she muttered.

He acted like he didn't hear her. "You taste good." He kissed her again, and Sakura could taste chocolate on his tongue. She couldn't help but lean into him—how could you deny Gaara and chocolate at the same time? Impossible.

"Y-you've got some too," Sakura breathed when he pulled away, kissing and licking his neck. A low grumble came from Gaara's chest and he put his mouth to hers, pulling her closer. He pressed forward and Sakura stepped back to lean against the counter, the kiss becoming more than a kiss. Gaara put his hand down to brace himself—and quickly stopped when he realized he had put his hand in the mixing bowl. The feeling of goo was enough to distract him and he pulled away to examine his hand, making a face and holding it up. He had only gotten his fingertips in it, so luckily he hadn't shoved his entire hand in the bowl.

Sakura was still a little dazed from the thorough kissing she had just received and saw the chocolate fingers. Without thinking she leaned forward and licked them, making Gaara stiffen. Mmm, chocolate. Sakura closed her eyes pulled the first two into her mouth.

Gaara made a very uncharacteristic noise from the back of his throat and Sakura realized what she was doing. She pushed him away, startled, face aflame. A hand went quickly to her lips and she hurriedly tried to lick away the evidence, looking mortified. "Oh my god," she stuttered. Gaara wouldn't stop staring at her mouth, and he hadn't lowered his hand. "I—uh, um…" she looked at the ground, feeling like a complete idiot and more. Why wouldn't he stop staring at her?

Gaara surged forward and wrapped her up in his arms, plastering his mouth to hers. Sakura made a muffled noise of protest, hands pressed between their two bodies. Gaara didn't let her get a chance to argue.

Sakura was alarmed by how forceful he was being. When he pulled away, she only had time to catch her breath, but before it came back he was on her again, hands roaming on her back, body crushed against hers. The counter cut painfully into her back, but she couldn't pull away long enough to complain. Finally it came to the point where she had to use her strength to push him away a step.

She panted, then looked at him. "Gaara, not so fast. I need to breathe. And—and I didn't mean to do that."

"I didn't mind," Gaara said offhandedly, stepping close again and kissing her neck. Sakura turned away.

"Well, _I _did. It was embarrassing."

"It was hot," Gaara corrected, finding her mouth. "Really, ultimately, mind-blowing hot." His voice was husky and thick against her ear, and Sakura couldn't help but shiver. She wasn't stupid. She knew what he was thinking. She found herself getting nervous.

"G-Gaara."

He shook his head. "No. No more talking."

"But—"

He kissed her quiet. Sakura's nervousness was growing. Gaara had moved a knee between hers, his hands moving to her hips and pulling her closer. Sakura squirmed a little and that only made Gaara tighten her grip on her.

Sakura's heart was thumping. Gaara was making her feel hot and mindless, and she couldn't think. His body was pressed against hers and he was breathing in her ear, his hands everywhere all at once. She tried to remember what she had been thinking about, but she was too distracted. Sakura bit her lip as she felt his cool hands slip under her shirt, having somehow gotten around the apron, and she could only cling to him as his hands traveled higher. He reclaimed her mouth as one hand went to her back, trying to find her bra clasp. Her breath hitched as she felt him fiddle with it, her fingers tightening on his shoulders. She couldn't process what to do. She didn't want him to stop, which is what he would do if she pushed him away, but if she let him continue…well, she didn't know how she felt about that.

Gaara growled when he couldn't figure it out and his other hand went around to help. Sakura winced when he accidentally pinched her. After a moment he huffed and pulled away. Sakura blinked. He was giving up? What? That wasn't like—oh.

Gaara was pulling the apron off her, ruffling her hair a bit as he pulled the neck loop off, and tossed it away. He kissed her quickly and grabbed the hem of her shirt, beginning to lift it up. Sakura ducked her head and put her hands over his, her heart in her throat. At first he didn't notice and went to move her shirt up, and Sakura squeezed his hands desperately. He tried to ignore her, but she wouldn't let go. He let out a low, drawn out rumble and looked at her. Sakura met his eyes, and he waited for her to say something.

She didn't want to fight. She didn't want to do this again. It happened every time! Gaara tried to go further, she stopped him. Fight. Cool down. Repeat a few days later. She remembered what Gaara had said in his office last week, how she kept stopping him. She was afraid of having sex…but was that going to stop her? She wanted to make him happy. She did want the relationship to go farther. What was holding her back? She loved him.

Sakura bit her lip. "Gaara…can you…go slower? I'm really nervous," she said in a shaky voice.

Gaara blinked and stared at her for a moment. Then a smile came over his face and he kissed her, picking her up. He brought her to the bedroom and set her down, sitting by her side and kissing her. Sakura tried to stay calm, but she near panicking on the inside. Her emotions were all over the place. She was grateful that Gaara was going slower now, regaining the moment instead of immediately trying to get her shirt off, but her heart was pounding so hard she could feel it, her throat was tight, and she get herself to calm down. She hardly noticed what Gaara was doing anymore.

When Gaara's fingers grazed the skin along the hem of her pants, he stilled his hand. Sakura took a sharp breath and closed her eyes, burying her face into his neck. "Sakura," he said quietly in her ear. She didn't reply. "Sakura," he repeated. She realized that his voice wasn't that husky, bothered tone he had been using earlier. He sounded…

"Sakura, you're trembling."

He untangled from her and sat up so he could see her face. After a moment, he said quietly, almost a little sad, "You're scared." Sakura didn't know what to say. He just looked so…disappointed. And that really hurt.

Gaara closed his eyes. Damn it. How did this keep happening? Sakura had just finally given him _permission, _and now he was the one saying to stop! What the hell was wrong with him?

He looked at her. There was nothing wrong with him. She was scared. _He_ scared her. How could having sex with him be that scary? After all the things she'd gone through with her training and her missions, and she was afraid of him? And it killed him that she was trying to do this, even though she was scared. That either meant she really cared about him and wanted to do this for him, or he had pressured her so much she felt like she had to. Great. He was an ass.

"Sakura, why are you forcing yourself?"

Sakura frowned. "I—I'm not."

"Yes you are," Gaara said tiredly. "You're scared out of your mind, aren't you?"

Sakura sat up. "Gaara, please…"

He gave her a flat look, dying inside. "You're asking me to sleep with you. Even though you don't want to. You can't do that to me, Sakura."

Sakura's face scrunched up, desperate. This wasn't what was supposed to happen. They should be having sex right now, and once that was done, he would be happy and she wouldn't be scared anymore. She might even like it. Gaara wouldn't be so frustrated. "Why are you saying no?" she asked. The disappointment was awful. Gaara was all over her when she was reluctant, but now she gave him the go ahead he didn't want her? "I thought you wanted to," she said in a small voice.

Gaara suddenly pushed her down on the mattress. Face close to hers, he said, "Of course I want to. But I want you to do it with me because _you_ want to. Not doing it because you feel like you have to." Gaara couldn't believe what he was saying. The sex-driven part of his mind was screaming at him and calling him an idiot, demanding that he _take _her_, right now_. But the other part, the one Sakura had kicked into gear, told him he was doing the right thing.

And right now, he hated that part.

He looked at her again, taking her in. Her hair mussed, lips red, face flushed. Shirt rumpled and pushed up. Waistband pushed low. He forced himself to look away. He couldn't force her to do this.

Sakura had no idea what to do. It hurt so much that Gaara was stopping her. She thought she should be relieved, or at least happy, that Gaara was taking her feelings into account. But she felt like he saying no meant he didn't want her. She had been trying so hard for him, and he didn't care. She was torn between being angry and feeling like crap.

Swallowing hard, Sakura sat up. She stared at Gaara's shoulder. "You don't want me," she said quietly.

"What?" Gaara couldn't believe his ears. "Of course I want you. I want every part of you. Sakura, hasn't that been obvious?"

"Then why won't you?" she demanded, voice thick.

"Haven't you been listening? I won't force you," Gaara told her. He searched for the right things to say, seeing that she was upset. "The first time is supposed to be important to you, isn't it? I want to make sure you won't regret it. Sakura, I can wait a little longer rather than have you wishing you didn't tonight." He pulled her to him. "You have no idea how much it would kill me if you woke up tomorrow morning wishing you hadn't slept with me."

There was a silent moment where they just stared at each other, and then Gaara looked away and stood up from the bed. Sakura watched his back. "Are you leaving?" she asked quietly.

Gaara hesitated, glancing at her. "Well, you don't want me to stay, do you?"

"I…yeah. I don't want to be alone right now."

Gaara turned his eyes to his feet. She was really testing him today, wasn't she? He was afraid that if he got close to her again, he might decide to screw his earlier decision and pretty much throw himself at her.

"Please?" she asked, drawing her knees up to her chest.

He closed his eyes. Why did she have to look so sad? "Move over," he muttered, and climbed into bed with her.

Just as Gaara was falling asleep, Sakura whispered, "Gaara?"

He responded with a low hum.

"Thank you."

Sakura turned over and looked at him. He eyes were closed. "Gaara?" she asked quietly. He didn't respond. She sat up and looked down at him. "Are you asleep?" Gently she put a hand on his cheek, but he still didn't move. Sakura hesitated, then leaned down and kissed his forehead, whispering into his ear, "I love you." Then she settled back against him, wondering if she would ever have the courage to really tell him.

----

That morning, Sakura woke with Gaara's head on her chest, using her as a pillow. She gave him a cocked smile and put a hand to his hair. Stroking his locks, she closed her eyes for a moment, letting herself relax. Today was her day off. She didn't have to worry about going to work.

Dully she wondered if Gaara should be getting up—did the Kazekage get a day off? She didn't want to wake him up, though. Lying in bed with him like this was nice. It had been a while since they had a quiet moment together. She eyed Gaara through half closed lids, thinking about when they would be able to do this again. They were both so busy…how many days until they would be able to see each other by themselves? She was still uneasy about people finding out about the relationship…but hadn't she proven she had earned her position with her time in Chiba? Maybe she wouldn't have to be so worried.

Gaara began to move and Sakura thought he was waking, but all he did was shift a bit to the side, arm still slung over her waist and head on her shoulder. She smiled again and pulled the blanket up so it covered the two of them. It was nice and warm under the covers, and she snuggled up against Gaara, hoping to drift back into sleep.

She must have eventually, because then she was waking up to Gaara moving around. He pushed himself up and saw Sakura blinking at him sleepily. "Morning," he mumbled, and glanced at the clock. Sakura watched him.

"Do you have to leave?" she asked quietly.

Gaara turned to her. "No," he said, as he settled back down and pulled her to him.

Sakura frowned at him. Something in his tone made her think he was lying, but she didn't feel like calling him on it. She didn't want him to go. She wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you for staying with me," she told him.

Gaara smirked. "How could I leave my damsel in distress?" he joked quietly, kissing her hair. She was a little irked at the insinuation she couldn't handle herself, but she knew he was just joking. And he was being affectionate, which hardly ever happened. There was a pause for a moment, then Gaara sighed. "I don't really want to talk about this, but I better tell you this before I forget. You've been here for almost a month, so your return to Konoha is coming up. You'll get to stay there for a week and see your friends."

Sakura blinked, thinking about this. "You don't see to happy about it."

Gaara scowled. "Of course not. I don't want you to leave."

Sakura cocked her head. "But Gaara, surely you're used to it. Even when I'm here we hardly ever get to see each other."

"So you don't mind that you won't get to see me for over a week?" Gaara grumbled.

Sakura held back a laugh at his annoyed tone. "Of course I mind. It's just, I'm not going to make a deal out of it. I'm used to not getting to see you a lot."

"I'm not making a deal out of it," he muttered. "I just don't like it when you're not around."

"Don't worry about that right now," she said quietly, smiling. It made her feel better knowing Gaara's feelings. She took Gaara's head in her hands. "Because I'm not going anywhere right now."

Gaara smiled and kissed her, rolling on top of her.

----

**Before you complain, the smex is coming. Eventually. Soonish. I wanted to show Gaara isn't as sex obsessed as I first made him, and again stressing he cares about Sakura on more than just a sexual level. And in turn I'm trying to show how far Sakura is willing to go for him. I felt silly when I tried to write this scene…mainly the licking-fingers thing. So weird. I almost thought of taking it out…but I want to see what you guys thought of it. Feedback on this would be very nice. **


	19. Chapter 19

**I feel like I'm getting better at quick updates, at least for the last two. I hope I get to keep this habit. This chapter was easy to write, and I hope you enjoy it.**

**------**

Readjusting her pack, Sakura glanced up at the group around her. Today was the day she was leaving for Konoha, and she had been given the same group of ninjas to escort her to her village that had traveled with her and Gaara to Suna; Subaru, Hiro, and Yura. They all seemed ready to go, if a little restless.

Sakura was surprised when Kimi showed up to see her off, smiling as if they were best friends. Izumi followed behind her, along with Gaara. They shared a quick glance, having already shared a private goodbye earlier in the quiet of his office. Izumi was too busy scolding Kimi for leaving her desk to notice anything, even as Gaara gave her an unhappy look. She wanted to hug him, but with everyone watching she knew she couldn't, and besides, they had already gone over this earlier.

"Are you ready to leave, Sakura?" Subaru asked.

Sakura opened her mouth to reply, but before she could Izumi snapped, "And just who do you think you are, addressing the ambassador by her first name?"

Subaru laughed, much to the irritation of the old advisor. "Calm down, old man. I'm sure she doesn't mind."

Furrowing his brow, Izumi growled, "It doesn't matter. She is the ambassador, and thus a certain amount of formality is required for these kinds of things."

"Izumi, it's fine, really," Sakura put in. "I wouldn't want to have to go through the entire journey with the three of them calling me 'Miss Haruno.'"

The old man frowned, but didn't argue. Subaru cocked his head at her, waiting for an answer for his earlier question. "Yes, I'm ready."

"Alright then, let's go!"

Sakura looked over her shoulder once to look at Gaara, and then she hurried off after the three men.

----

Nothing special happened on the way to Konoha, besides a slight friendship forming between Sakura and her escorts. Her arrival at her home village was apparently unexpected, because when she reported to the Hokage Tower to announce her arrival, Tsunade and Shizune were happily surprised. Shizune even broke character and ran over to hug her. Needless to say, they were pleased to see her.

Sakura next went in search of Ino to say hi, and found her working in her family's flower shop. Again, Sakura was attacked with a flying hug, and they spent the next few minutes giggling and hugging each other, ignoring their sometimes rivalry in favor of their ragged friendship. They made plans to have a movie night at Sakura's later that night as she went to visit everyone else.

Naruto was just as pleased as everyone else, and she couldn't help but invite him along to the movie night in the making. Kakashi was pleased to see her too, taking time to look away from his book long enough to share a conversation about how she was doing and such. She was greeted by almost everyone, even people she hardly spoke to before leaving for Suna. Sakura was in a great mood by the time she swung by Shikamaru's in search of Temari.

He let her in after a polite greeting, and led her into the living room. Temari was sitting on the couch, reading a book. As soon as she saw Sakura, her face split up into a smile. "How's it been?" she asked.

"Pretty good. You?"

Temari shrugged and made room for Sakura. "This must mean my visit is coming up soon, too," she said happily.

"About time," Shikamaru grumbled as he rummaged in the cupboards for food. Temari chucked her book at him. Shikamaru easily dodged it, and Sakura got the impression that this was a well rehearsed deal.

"Has anything big happened in Suna?" Temari asked earnestly. "I heard about the Chiba incident."

Sakura shrugged. "Chiba's going to fine, I've been told. And there haven't been any changes around Suna that I know about. Looking forward to going home?"

"Of course," Temari said quietly. But then she shook herself, unwilling to turn moody. To lighten the conversation, she asked slyly, "And Gaara?"

The blush that stained Sakura's cheeks didn't get past Temari, and she smirked. Sakura ignored her, glancing at Shikamaru. He rolled his eyes and muttered something about having something to do and left the room. "Things are…getting complicated."

"Good complicated?" Temari asked teasingly. She hated to admit it, but hanging around Konoha had really turned her into a gossip. It was pretty much the backbone of the village's community.

Sakura hesitated. "I'm worried about people finding out about us…but Gaara's been pushing for more." Temari raised a questioning eyebrow. "Are you sure you want the details? Gaara's your brother and everything…"

Temari made a face. "Maybe you're right. Let's talk about something else…"

"I'm having a movie tonight at my apartment, if you're interested."

When Sakura got back to her apartment, she paused before opening the door. It felt so strange to not have been in her home for a month…When she opened the door, she half expected things to look different. But no, everything was in order, just the way she left it before going off to Suna. It did have a bit of a stale smell to it though, and Sakura went around opening the windows and dusting off things, still feeling like she walking around in someone else's house.

Going around the village and catching up with everyone had taken a surprisingly long time, and it wasn't long before her friends started to arrive. Ino came first, bearing bags of popcorn and a smile, unable to resist hugging Sakura again when she saw her, still in the afterglow of finding out she was finally back. Next came Naruto…with Hinata in tow. Sakura rose her eyebrows at him, but he shrugged awkwardly and smiled. Hinata greeted Sakura warmly, as polite and kind as ever. After that, Temari came—with Shikamaru and Chouji. She apologized for being a little late, blaming Shikamaru for not being able to get here in time. Sakura just shrugged, glancing worriedly at Ino—did she still have feelings for him?—but her blonde friend kept her face perfectly impassive, saying hi to everyone, not showing any animosity. Chouji apologized for showing up without being invited, but by this time everyone was getting restless and playing around, and Sakura laughed it off, saying the more the merrier and warning him not to eat all the popcorn.

With so many people, they couldn't all fit on the couch. As the movie started, the teenagers fought over space and pillows, laughing and screwing around. As they settled in on the floor and kitchen stools (a good fifteen minutes into the movie), Sakura smiled to herself. She had missed this. Suna was nice, but it didn't make her feel as needed and wanted as her friends did.

When the first movie ended, another was popped in. The movie night turned into a movie marathon, and Naruto was sent out to grab more popcorn before the stores closed. He came back with a few bags, and cups of instant ramen (Sakura had emptied out her fridge and most of her cupboards before she had left because she would be gone for so long). He was hailed by all as he passed them out, another skirmish for better seats commenced, blankets were passed out and Sakura ended up on the couch arm, Shikamaru and Temari fighting for the last blanket, neither willing to share.

A third movie was turned on when the second ended, and some of the guests fell asleep, splayed across each other. As Sakura glanced around, she saw that Ino was still up. They caught each other's gaze and smiled at each other.

"It's good to be home," Sakura whispered simply.

------

That morning was strange to wake up to. When Sakura sat up, rubbing her eyes, she froze for a moment, registering all the bodies around her. She was using Chouji's shoulder for a pillow, Ino's legs were tossed over her lap, and basically everyone else was in a similar jumble. She almost laughed at some of the comical positions her friends were in (interestingly, Hinata and Naruto were curled up in a chair together, looking very cuddly, and apparently Temari and Shikamaru had finally decided to share that blanket).

Ino stirred and opened her eyes. Glancing down at her body and seeing Shikamaru's leg over her chest, she scowled and tossed it aside. Shikamaru groaned and sat up, and his movement woke Temari. Soon everyone was stirring, covering their mouths as they yawned, pushing each other off of them. Hinata woke up and met eyes with Naruto, about an inch away from her face. The two of them froze, then Naruto hurriedly picked her off him and coughed, both red in the face.

"I'm hungry," Chouji grumbled.

"Me too," Temari added.

Ino looked at Sakura and shrugged. "Wanna go out and eat with everyone?"

Breakfast was a much quieter and more controlled deal than the previous night. There was no tossing of beacon or arm wrestling over who got the outside booth seats. They were all still a little sleepy and tired for all the action before. Most of the conversation was directed at Sakura, catching up and finding out how Suna was, how things were going for her. They filled her in on the goings on around the village and the missions they had been going on, some of the recent scandals.

That was a great day for Sakura. She enjoyed the relief of no responsibilities for the first time in a long while, and spent the entire day with her friends. She ran into her escort group in the village and introduced them to her friends (Sakura noticed Hiro making eyes at Ino, she made sure to keep tabs on that) and they spent some time together.

The week went by too fast for Sakura. She spent time relaxing, learning new things from Tsunade, talking with people who wanted to know how she was doing. She also spent some time shopping, grabbing things that would remind her of home when she returned to Suna. Ino accompanied her, helping choose things out. As they wandered around the market, Sakura glanced slyly at her. "So…how're things with Shikamaru?"

Ino shrugged distractedly. "Fine."

"Are you telling me the truth?" Sakura asked lightly, pretending to be interested in a jewelry stand.

Ino glared her at her. "What do you expect me to say? That I still pine over him every night?"

"Of course not," she said, turning to her. "But I saw how you were watching him. There's still feelings there."

Ino scoffed. "I'm hardly going to ask him again, after he turned me down the first time. I'm not stupid."

"So you still like him?"

"No. I'm angry at him. He's an idiot."

Sakura didn't bother to push this farther and ended the conversation there.

------

The next day, Sakura and Temari met up, wandering around. The blonde wanted more news from Suna than she had told everyone else, and they walked around the village as they talked. Sakura told her about how Kyoko was as big as a blimp and how she was shocked that she and Kimi were related. Temari laughed at that, saying she was just as shocked when she found out. Temari told her some stories about Izumi that were amusing, and asked how the council was treating her.

Once Sakura got out her side of the story, she started to ask Temari about her stay at Konoha. She shrugged, mentioning how she didn't appreciate having to stay with Shikamaru, telling her that she felt like she had gotten the short end of the stick. "I mean, really! You get your own suite—practically an entire floor of the Kazekage building, while I'm stuck slumming with the locals."

Sakura frowned at her tone, and Temari rolled her eyes. "Okay, maybe slumming it is the wrong word, but it's stupid. Chouji is always over, and I swear that Ino wants to stab me with a steak knife whenever she sees me. Konoha people are crazy."

"Why does Ino want to stab you with a steak knife?" Sakura asked quizzically.

Temari rolled her eyes. "She's crazy. I'm positive she thinks Shikamaru and me are sleeping together or something like that."

Sakura snorted. "What?"

"She makes these little remarks when Shikamaru isn't paying attention. And I know what a jealous glare looks like. Man, if looks could kill…"

"Are you serious?" Sakura demanded.

"Why would I make that up?" Temari asked. "That girl is pissing me off. Something must have happened between her and Shikamaru, right?"

"Before we got our ambassador positions, yes. I can't believe she's acting like this."

"Well, I guess I'm not making it better," Temari admitted, smirking. "Last night just to piss her off I made sure Shikamaru and I had to sleep next to each other. Pissed her right off," she chuckled.

"Temari!"

"Hey, she's lucky. If I wasn't here as an ambassador, I would have put her head through a wall."

Sakura sighed and turned her head up to the sky. She was disappointed that Ino was acting so pettishly and immature, but Temari was only adding fuel to the fire. She didn't know what to do with the two of them. "Look, for the future, just try to remember that you can't cause any trouble here while on the ambassador program."

"Oh, I know. It's just fun to imagine how I would destroy her if things got heated enough…"

"Moving on," Sakura said loudly.

------

The stay at Konoha flew by. Sakura had mixed feeling about it. She half wished that she could stay longer, but she didn't have anything to do and half the time she was sitting around waiting until her friends weren't busy so they could hang out. And she was starting to miss Gaara. And, shockingly, Suna. She missed being busy at the hospital and having fun with her co-workers.

So when Subaru told her they would be leaving, she didn't mind. She said goodbye to everyone, and with Temari now with them, they left for Suna. Sakura enjoyed having Temari's company along for the journey. To pass the time they talked about all sorts of things, and they were surprised when they were just days from Suna.

The night before they arrived, Subaru offered to go off with Sakura to collect water for the night's meal. As Sakura kneeled down to collect some water, Subaru stayed standing, watching her. "You know, Sakura…I was wondering…"

She glanced questioningly up at him when he trailed off, filling her large canteen.

"You didn't seem to have a boyfriend back at Konoha, did you?"

Sakura blinked, surprised. She stood, and said awkwardly, "Well, no, not at Konoha."

He rose an eyebrow and they started walking back to camp. "It seems strange that such a pretty girl like you wouldn't already have a guy."

Sakura gulped, not looking at him. Was he flirting with her? "Um, well…I don't mind. I'm so busy that it would be difficult."

Subaru smirked at her. "I don't think I would mind. I like a challenge."

"Er?" was all she could manage, inwardly swearing. He wasn't kidding.

He chuckled. "I wouldn't mind having you for a girlfriend. What do you think?"

"Oh, I um…" Sakura floundered. She couldn't quite say she was involved with his Kazekage, now could she? How could she turn him down politely?

He smiled at her. "No need to answer me right now. Give it time to think about."

Sakura opened her mouth, but then they were on the threshold of the camp, and Hiro waved, saying, "About time you got back! The fire's already going. Let me have that water."

---

The next morning, Sakura didn't know what to do with herself. They would reach Suna before midday, so she figured just to stay away from Subaru for the time. She intended to tell him that she was already involved with someone, but she'd rather do it privately, away from Hiro, Yura, and Temari.

When the gates of Suna came into view, Sakura couldn't miss the happy grin that split Temari's face. She had missed her village a lot, Sakura was sure. Since the day of their arrival was unsure, there was no welcome party. A few of the guards hurried out, smiling at Temari and cheering her congratulations of her position. Sakura was surprised to see Izumi huffing and puffing up to their group, looking a little frazzled. "Temari!" he panted. "It's so great to see you back in Suna, and you too, Miss Haruno."

"Izumi, are you alright?" Sakura questioned.

"Fine," he said, waving his hand. "I just rushed over her to meet you…"

"You didn't have to do that."

"Of course I did! For the two ambassadors to not get a warm welcome would be insane…strangely enough, I couldn't get members of the council to come along," he grumbled quietly.

Sakura thought back to the last time she arrived at Suna, part of Gaara's entourage. Apparently the council only acted politely when the Kazekage was around.

Izumi straightened, complaining that he should be in better shape. "Well now, if you don't mind, why don't we go to see the Kazekage to officially announce your visit?"

Temari frowned. "Izumi…I really don't want to see my brother first thing I get back here. He'll ruin my mood. I'll see him later, once I shower and clean up, would you mind?"

Izumi was about to argue, then decided against it. "I guess you're right. The Kazekage's been in an awful mood lately, since you left, actually," he said to the three men and Sakura. She tried to keep from blushing. "But perhaps one of you should at least come with me to let the Kazekage know that you have come back."

"I'm sure Sakura and I could do it," Subaru offered.

Sakura fought to keep from scowling. Pushy, wasn't he? She didn't want her first reunion with Gaara to be with Subaru in tow.

"Alright then, let's go!" Izumi said cheerily. They set off for the Kazekage building.

On the walk there, Subaru fell in step with Sakura, speaking quietly so Izumi couldn't hear. "Considered what I said yesterday?"

Sakura pursed her lips, annoyed. "I haven't even had a day," to figure out how to turn you down, she added silently. "You're a bit forward, aren't you?"

Subaru laughed, tucking his hands in his pockets. "I like to think it adds to my charm."

Sakura bit back a retort as they stepped through the lobby doors. Kimi saw her and greeted her warmly, Sakura smiled back. They entered Gaara's office, Izumi first. "Kazekage, the group has returned with Temari."

He looked up, eyes immediately pinning to Sakura. His eyes were smoldering. Without even looking away, he said, "So where is she?"

"She wanted to rest before she came to report."

"Alright." He looked away from Sakura and glanced uninterestedly at Subaru. "Anything of interest for you to report?"

"No, everything went along fine," he replied simply.

"Alright," Gaara repeated, pushing his seat away from his desk. "You're dismissed." He caught Sakura's eye as Izumi bowed and turned. "I would, however, appreciate a private word with Miss Haruno."

The two men left, leaving Sakura alone with Gaara. They were silent for a moment, tension growing thick.

All Gaara seemed intent on doing was staring at her, taking her in, and Sakura couldn't bear it. To break the moment, she said, "I missed you."

"It's been three weeks," Gaara said quietly. Sakura took that as him saying he missed her too. He felt like telling her not to do it again, but instead said, "Did you have a good time?"

Sakura walked over to his desk, not liking talking to each other across the room. "Yes. I really enjoyed it. Seeing my friends was really nice."

Gaara frowned. He couldn't tell her not to visit her village anymore when she loved it so much. But he hated when she was away. He leaned on the desk. "Sakura, could we sleep together tonight? I haven't been able to sleep since you've left."

Sakura paused, but then she saw how tired he looked. "I…of course." She didn't bother pointing out that people might notice. He already knew her argument, but now Sakura was beginning to doubt they needed to be so worried. And now, with guys (alright, only one) starting to see her as available, Sakura thought it was near time she stop being so publicity conscious. She frowned as she got a closer look on him. "Gaara, you don't look so good. Are you feeling unwell?"

"I'm just tired. I hadn't had trouble falling asleep in a long time."

She cocked her head. "Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore." She walked around the desk and hugged him. "I won't be leaving for again for a long time."

"Better not," he grumbled, kissing her lightly.

Sakura smiled and pulled away. "I'd better go see how Kyoko is doing. I'll see you tonight, alright?"

"Sounds good," Gaara said.

Sakura walked out, wishing she could stay with Gaara. She hadn't thought of it before, but Gaara was really…_attached_ to her, wasn't he? That thought made her smile, feeling warm.

When she arrived at the hospital, Kyoko didn't even let her say hi. The second she saw her, she snapped, "About time you came back! Do you have any idea how much work you've missed?"

Sakura blinked, surprised. She had gotten bigger, if that was possible, and she was _not _happy about it. "Kyoko, are you alright?"

"Of course!" she said irritably, snatching a clipboard out of a passing nurse's hand and going over it. "You did this wrong!" she barked, then threw it at the nurse. Sakura flinched, even though the clipboard wasn't directed at her. Kyoko continued. "I've been on my feet for the past three weeks, running around, while you were having fun with your friends! I'm a month from my due date, and yet I can't seem to get any time to relax! _I don't want to hear it!_" she snapped at an approaching doctor, who quickly turned tail and scampered down the hall. "Now get to work!"

----

Gaara almost smiled when he saw his sister enter his office. "Temari," he acknowledged, "good to have you back."

Temari grinned. "It almost sounds like you mean it."

Gaara did smile at that. "So, anything to report?"

Temari shrugged. "About me? Not really. But I think you might be interested that Subaru Tojo tried to put the moves on Sakura on the way back."

The pen in Gaara's hand snapped, splattering the paper under it with ink. "What?" Gaara growled.

Temari rose an eyebrow. "Take a deep breath there, bro. Sakura obviously didn't reply."

"Well, I know that," he said sharply.

"Then what's with the attitude? You jealous?"

Gaara didn't answer, glowering at her. Subaru Tojo. Never liked the cocky bastard. How would he like to be demoted to oh, say, back to the Suna academy?

"You know, that's kind of cute. You being jealous. I think that would make Sakura happy."

"What? Why on earth would that make her happy?"

Temari leaned back in the chair in front of his desk. "Well, it varies from girl to girl, but usually it makes girls happy when a guy gets jealous—to a degree. Shows he likes her and wants her for himself, makes her feel wanted." She eyed Gaara's face. "Don't go doing anything stupid," she told him sternly. "You're thinking about doing something to him, aren't you? Sakura can handle herself perfectly well, and it would be wrong for you to abuse your power like that. Imagine how upset Sakura would be, with her worry about people thinking about your relationship, if you went and used your power against other guys because they made moves on her."

Gaara frowned. Damn, his sister knew him too well. And she was right. He crossed his arms and looked at her. Temari just grinned at him, pissing him off even more. "Got any more advice for me, oh All Knowing One?"

"If you're serious, then yes, I could give you some advice on how to deal with Sakura that would make her happy."

"…like what?"

-----

Sakura blinked in surprise when she opened the door to the suite. There were candles on the table—and flowers. Gaara was leaning against it, trying not to look embarrassed. Sakura turned her eyes to him. "Gaara, did you do this?"

Because he felt so embarrassed, he considered snapping that no, it was the flower fairies, but contained himself. "Temari told me you would like this. There was supposed to be dinner along with this, but it didn't quite…" he glanced at the garbage, "survive."

Sakura's face split up into a big smile and she gave him a hug, laughing. "Gaara, this is beautiful. The only thing missing is the music."

"I didn't want to go that far," Gaara mumbled quietly, wrapping her arms around her.

"I already at the hospital, anyway." She couldn't help but pull away and look around again. "You really missed me, didn't you?" she teased.

"So what? Saying _you_ didn't miss me?"

"No, no I did. A lot." She squeezed him and they kissed.

Gaara pulled away, narrowing his eyes at her. "Oh really? Subaru didn't distract you at all?"

Sakura paused, cocking her head. How'd he know…? Temari. Of course. "Gaara, Subaru doesn't stand a chance against you. If I didn't know any better, I would say you sounded a little hurt?"

"Well, you know better," Gaara muttered and kissed her again. Sakura smiled against his lips.

"Well, since you've been worried I've been fooling around with a guy, do I have to worry about you?" she accused lightly.

Gaara rolled his eyes. "So long as you've told him to back off, everything's fine."

"I'm going to tell him that next time I see him," Sakura said quietly.

Gaara frowned. "You haven't already turned him down?"

"No time. Don't worry, I will as soon as I see him."

Gaara's frown deepened, and then an idea popped in his head. "You know," he said quietly in her ear, "I always just could ravage you in front of him. I'm sure that would get the point across."

Sakura couldn't help the shiver that ran down her body. She tried to put on a strong front, however. "Oh, yes, because you know how I love my public ravishing. Favorite pastime of mine."

Gaara just laughed. "Let's continue this tomorrow. I'm so tired I can hardly stay standing." He took Sakura's hand, blew out the candles on the table, and together they walked into the bedroom.

Sakura glanced at the bed, then hesitated. "Um, let me wash up a bit. I haven't really gotten to shower or anything…"

"I don't mind, come on…"

"Well, I do. I'll be quick." Sakura went to the dresser, and after a moment's thinking, grabbed some clothes and hurried into the bathroom. Here she cursed the lack of a shower and sighed, undressing. She soaked a washcloth and scrubbed her body down, making sure to get herself clean. Not as good as a bath, maybe, but she wasn't going to make Gaara wait.

Glancing at her choice of pajamas, Sakura began to doubt herself. She had impulsively pulled out a light blue, itty-bitty night gown, but now…

Sakura shook her head and steeled herself, pulling it on. What was the point of buying it, if she never wore it? She ran her hands through her hair, trying to make herself look presentable. After a moment she gave up, took a deep breath, and walked into the bedroom. Gaara turned his eyes to her and stilled, a strange look on his face.

Sakura blushed and ducked her head, taking a few uncertain steps forward. "Do you have to stare?" she asked.

"Yes," he answered, unabashed. Sakura walked over to the bed and Gaara moved over for her, still watching her every move.

"You know, you're making me feel very self conscious," she accused.

"You're beautiful," he said quietly. Sakura shifted uncomfortably, inwardly glowing with the compliment. Gaara kissed her again and pulled the covers over them, wrapping an arm around her and kissing the nape of her neck. As they settled down for sleep, Gaara whispered, after a long moment, "I missed you."

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**I am not going to criticize myself this time (though I could), because I always do that. I'm going to let you guys do that for me, if you want to. Also…I feel kinda weird asking this, but if you guys have made any fan art, I would love to see it. Is that strange to ask…?**


	20. Chapter 20

**Short, but needed to be its own separate chapter. Not much to say. And for those who asked, yes, there is a plot for all of this. It's been a little disjointed and vague, but I've got it back on track. **

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Sakura woke up early, cuddled up nicely with Gaara, who was sleeping like a rock. She smiled at him, glanced at the clock, and saw that she had plenty of time before having to get to work. She snuck out of bed, having to carefully free herself from the tangle of Gaara's arms, and tiptoed into the kitchen. She smiled when she saw the set up from the night before on the dining table and planned to repay him with a nice, big breakfast.

She was overjoyed to see that her fridge had been stocked (there were quite some perks to being the Suna Ambassador), and quickly got to work. It wasn't long before she heard a groan from the bedroom, and soon afterward Gaara walked through the door, glowering at her. "What are you doing?" he asked blearily.

Sakura smiled down at the pan on the stove, amused at his sleepy look. "Making you breakfast."

He scowled at her. "I don't want breakfast. I want to stay in bed with you."

"Then you'll never get out. And you don't want this?" she asked, lifting the frying pan and waving it in his direction, the smell of beacon and eggs reaching him. Gaara's scowl faltered, eyes locking onto the food. "I thought so," Sakura smirked. She lifted some out and put them on a plate for him, placing it on the dinning table. Gaara tried to walk over to the chair looking affronted, but failed. Sakura rolled her eyes and made a plate for herself, sitting opposite him. "Aren't you so happy I can cook?"

Gaara nodded, too busy chewing to make a proper response. Shaking her head, she passed the salt and pepper to him, earning a grunt of thanks.

After they were finished and Gaara was about to leave, he turned around from the door. "I almost forgot to tell you. There's a…get together coming up with all the big names from this area, and Suna's hosting it. Izumi keeps calling it the 'Winter Ball'…but I hate saying that."

Sakura could tell by the face he made. She cocked her head. "I'm guessing I need to go?"

"Yeah. Unfortunately, I do too." He scowled. "I hate these kinds of things. I'm expected to talk to people and be sociable." He shivered. Sakura held back a laugh.

"If it's the 'Winter _Ball' _is there going to be dancing?" Sakura asked incredulously.

Gaara grimaced.

"Oh god, there is."

"Well, not really. It's more dinner…then a social hour type thing. Some people waltz around to the music—there's a band and everything—but most people just walk around and talk. That's usually when I get out of there, it would be to rude to leave during dinner, or so Izumi says."

Sakura pushed aside his problems. "Um, am I going to know any of these people? Will people from Konoha be coming?"

"No, Konoha's too far away….You probably won't know anyone. But a lot of people will be interested in meeting you. Temari will be here," he added, trying to comfort her.

Sakura frowned, trying to think how she would handle being in such a professional atmosphere with so many people she wouldn't know. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the hair out of her face and asked, "What will I have to wear?"

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That week went by pretty fast for Sakura. It didn't take her long to realize that things always went fast in Suna, it was a fast paced village. She was kept busy at the hospital, during her free time talking to Izumi about what she was expected to do at the ball, and trying to do shopping at the same time. She enlisted Temari to help her with finding a dress that would be appropriate for the occasion. They chose a black dress, elegant and simple, and shoes that wouldn't kill Sakura if she tried to walk around for more than five minuets.

She was surprised to see the occasional winter decorations go up. In the desert there wasn't much of a visible change in season, though it did get colder, and the red and green decorations seemed out of place. With a sinking feeling, she realized Christmas was coming up. This would be the first time she wouldn't celebrate it in Konoha. And how would she get her friends gifts? Would cards be enough? And what would she get Gaara?

Cursing the holidays, Sakura tried to do her best. As the ball approached, she got most of her shopping out of the way for her friends back in Konoha (given, most were cards and small knickknacks, the ambassador allowance was surprisingly small).

The deal with Subaru had totally left her mind, so when she saw him one day with Yura in the market, laughing together, she was surprised. She wondered if he would notice her and bug her again, but then she noticed he was flirting with a girl at the counter. Scowling, Sakura didn't bother.

She was surprised she was a little tweaked at his attitude, but after she got over her irritation at being snuffed, she realized this was good for her. No need to worry over how to tell him no, when he was running around chasing skirts. She shrugged it off.

Soon enough, she was looking forward to the ball, because she would finally get to see Gaara. They were both too busy to meet with each other alone, or even at all, so being able to see him would cheer her up.

When the day came, Temari agreed to arrive with Sakura so they wouldn't have trouble finding each other. It was dark by the time they left—both feeling vaguely ridiculous walking down the street all dressed up—and they were pleased to see few people were out. The ball itself was being hosted in a large restaurant that usually got rented out for important, fancy parties or the wealthy weddings. Sakura had walked past it plenty of times, but never been inside it. There was a small line of other, well-dressed people already outside, waiting to be let in. Temari chatted nicely with the people they got behind of, introducing Sakura. The man was Lord Hue, a member of the Suna council (even though Sakura didn't remember him at all), and the woman on his arm looked a bit young to be his wife, but seemed nice enough. Hue seemed a bit overly interested in Sakura though, asking many questions about her village and her responsibilities as ambassador, coming off a little rude to her. She was happy when they got inside after giving their names at the door.

They were led to a large room with a high ceiling, people standing all around, dressed elegantly, sipping at drinks. A band of musicians was in the corner, quietly playing music that fit the atmosphere. Sakura felt a little out of place, having never been at such an occasion, but Temari quickly shook that out of her, introducing her to a bunch of people whose names she forgot as soon as the next person came along. She got handed a drink by who she assumed was a waiter, and after eyeing it for a moment, realized it was alcohol. Frowning, she figured it wouldn't be best to have her first experience with drinking at such a prestigious event—what if she drank too much and made a fool of herself?

The man she had just been introduced to—Hansen, a representative from Chiba—smiled when he realized what she was doing. "I know, I don't like to drink here either. And being so young—how old are you, young lady?"

"Seventeen," Sakura answered.

He rolled his eyes. "You're not even legally allowed to drink in Suna yet. I don't like how the waiters only pass out alcohol. But anyway," he waved his hand. "I'm impressed, Miss Haruno. I saw you working hard to save my village when we had that awful disaster and to be so young too…"

Sakura smiled modestly. "Please, call me Sakura."

He smiled back, and Sakura felt herself relaxing. Everyone here wasn't arrogant because of their wealth or title. That thought was comforting. They continued to talk for a while, before Hansen was pulled away by some acquaintances. Sakura drifted through the crowds, trying to find someone she knew, but then the waiters appeared bearing trays of food and the dinner began. She was seated at a table with intricate nameplates, seemingly the largest table in the room. She was relieved when Gaara was at her side, wearing his Kazekage robes, Temari on the other. Apparently the tables were set up by rank, and Sakura was surprised to realize that being an ambassador was a big deal among these people, to be allowed to sit with the Kazekage. Lord Hue was also at the table, with his lady friend, and many other people.

Once Gaara got freed from the constant conversation with the older woman at his side, he casually leaned over and whispered, "That dress looks great on you."

Sakura smiled without looking at him, "Thank you, Kazekage." She wished they could continue to talk, but then she got dragged into a discussion with a middle-aged man across the table. Gaara let his hand drop and gently laid it on her knee for a second, and Sakura fought to keep from blushing. Again she caught herself wondering what it would be like if they didn't have their relationship a secret. They wouldn't have to avoid flirting in the open or seeming too close like they were now.

But oddly enough, she sort of liked it. Keeping it a secret made it feel a bit like a game. A strange, exciting game. Feeling bold, as she was chatting politely with Temari and Gaara with Lord Hue, she slipped off her shoe under the table and brushed it against Gaara's leg, feeling a certain vindictive pleasure when he jerked just slightly.

Sakura realized that even though Gaara always had the upper hand over her while they were in private, but in public, she could tease him as much as she wanted, because he didn't know how to be subtle like she did.

Gaara gave her a quick, irritated/surprised/pleased glance and went back into the conversation, unsure of what to make of that movement. Sakura pretended not to notice and began to talk with a woman who was from a wealthy business that ran in Suna. She apparently made frequent donations to the hospital, and they soon got talking about medical business.

Sakura could feel that Gaara was getting a little short tempered with the person he was talking to, the conversation getting a little heated. After a moment of assessing just who he was talking to—Lord Hue, the council member—Sakura decided that getting this man angry wouldn't be the best thing to do. Pretending to be adjusting the napkin on her lap, she reached over and lightly settled her hand on his thigh, making Gaara lose thread of his sentence. He covered it with a cough and shifted, irritation with his conversation partner too strong to realize what quite she was doing. As he kept going Sakura began to stroke his leg, hiding her smirk as Gaara's speech completely broke off. She felt him look at her but turned back to the business woman, stilling her hand, but not removing it.

"S—"

At that the music picked up and waiters came around, clearing away the dishes. Sakura got to her feet with the rest of the table. More trays of drinks came around as people dispersed, walking around to find people and talk. Sakura walked over to a quiet area against the wall, knowing that Gaara was right behind her. "What was that?" he asked quietly.

"What was what?" she asked, looking up at him innocently. Gaara scowled.

"You know perfectly well. You were—" he paused, not sure what to say with people nearby in earshot.

Sakura smirked. It always made her pleased when she got him flustered, since it so rarely ever happened. "Oh, that? I wanted to make sure that you wouldn't upset one of your advisors."

"Lord Hue is hardly an advisor to me," Gaara snorted, glancing across the room at him. "I dislike him. He had an in with the previous Kazekage, and he acts like he expects the same thing from me, like it's my duty. He's selfish and greedy." Gaara frowned and looked back at Sakura. "I don't want to talk about him anymore. These stupid events put me in a foul mood."

Sakura tried to change the direction of the conversation. "You know, I was hoping I would see you in a suit, maybe a tux."

Again Gaara snorted. "Fat chance I'll ever wear one of those." The topic of clothes had distracted him though, and he glanced at her, or more precisely, her body. "I wasn't lying when I said I liked your dress."

Sakura coughed, trying to cover her embarrassment. "Gaara, with that look on your face, if any of the people look over right now they're going to think you're about to do something very inappropriate."

Gaara smirked. "Maybe I am," he said quietly. Sakura tried to give him an unhappy glare. He rolled his eyes. "Look, can we leave? I'm getting to the edge of my temper with these people, and soon enough I'm really going to start a fight with someone."

"What do you have in mind?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know. I just need to get out of here—maybe get this awful taste out of my mouth from that food they served."

Sakura shrugged. "I bought some ice cream the other day and have a movie. Want to watch it?"

"Sounds great." Gaara glanced to his side at the people talking to each other. "I just need to get out of here. I'm getting _itchy._"

"Alright…just, um, I don't think we should leave together. I've heard how these people gossip, and I don't want us in the rumor mill. I'll leave first. Come meet me at the suite. Sound good?"

Gaara rolled his eyes at her acting like this was an escape plan. "Yeah, sounds great."

"Alright, see you soon." Sakura left him, saying goodbye to the people she recognized. Some of them tried to get her to stay—a few looked a little tipsy, in all honestly—but she refused, saying she was exhausted and had to get home.

The walk back to her apartment was a little painful, because now she was really starting to feel her heels, and she was relieved to get to her bedroom so she could sit down and take the evil things off. She turned on the bedside lamp and sat down, reaching for her shoes. Of course, they gave up quite a fight, Sakura having to bend in all sorts of which ways to try and reach the straps. When she finally managed to get the buckle, she couldn't see how to work the strap out of it. Fumbling around blindly, Sakura's brow wrinkled in frustration at in inability to get the shoes off. Finally they came off and Sakura chucked them across the room with a tad more force than needed. Standing up, she attempted to take off her dress. Having a bit of difficulty, Sakura managed to grip the zipper and awkwardly pulled it down.

It was stuck.

At first Sakura thought that it was the way she was pulling, because she couldn't quite reach it properly, but after trying every which way, she realized it wasn't going to be moving. She tugged and tugged, tried to pull it back up, and did everything she could think of, but it wouldn't budge.

Sakura put a hand to her face. First her shoes, now her dress. Great. This was outfit of the year for the most difficult category. She might as well have dressed up in a straight jacket. Getting irritated, Sakura tried again to get the zipper to move. No such luck.

She heard the door open in the other room, and Gaara's voice came, "Sakura?"

Panicked, she replied, "Um, I'm in here. Just give me a second." Her tugs at the zipper became more desperate.

There was silence, then Gaara asked, "What are you doing?"

"Trying to get undressed," she called, wrestling to get the dress off. She gave up and took a few deep breaths, telling herself this dress was expensive, and it wouldn't be smart to rip it apart.

"Trying?" he questioned. "What's going on in there?"

"I'm having trouble," she said pathetically, hand to her face. What was she going to do?

"Trouble? With what?"

"The zipper's stuck. I can't get the dress off," she moaned, humiliated. She was going to have ask him to help, wasn't she? Oh god, this was awful.

There was a pause. Finally, "Do you need help?"

Sakura closed her eyes. "Yes."

A moment of silence, then Gaara entered the room. Sakura made a face and turned her back to him, pulling her hair out of the way. "It won't move," she said pathetically, staring at the floor.

She bit her lip when she felt Gaara's hands on her shoulders, sliding down to examine the problem. "It's caught in the fabric," he murmured, his breath brushing against her neck and making her shiver. She wondered why he was so quite and why his voice was so tight. He carefully worked the zipper out of the fabric and hesitated for a moment, then began to pull it down. Sakura felt her face heat up when his fingers brushed against the skin of her back.

Gaara eyed the skin that was revealed, pulling down the zipper slowly to prolong the moment. He could tell Sakura was uncomfortable, but did it anyway. His eyes fell on the back of a bra, black and lacey. Sakura blushed when she realized what must have made him pause and wanted to crawl under a rock. Of course she had to be wearing the most provocative underwear she had. It was the only one that fit properly for this kind of dress without showing, but now she was wishing she hadn't worn it.

When Gaara's hand stilled, Sakura said hurriedly, "Gaara, I think I can get it now," but then he laid a kiss to the nape of her neck and she stopped talking. She stiffened and held her breath as he pulled the zipper down as far as it would go, just above her waist.

After a moment, Sakura cautiously turned around. "Thank you," she muttered, not looking at him. "I, um, think I can handle getting dressed by myself now," she said, attempting to joke, but her voice was much too quiet.

"Sakura…" Gaara said quietly. She looked up at him, nervous. His face was much too serious, and his eyes…she wanted to look back down, but couldn't.

"W-what?" she asked. She had such an urge to back up so he wasn't so close, but her feet were rooted to the floor. He didn't say anything, and Sakura couldn't make her mouth work. She just looked back at him, unable to think.

And then Gaara was pulling her to him, kissing her. She resisted for less than a second, then leaned into him. Why bother trying? She couldn't act like she didn't want this. And she did. She wanted him to hold her, kiss her, touch her.

Gaara kept the kisses soft and long, not his usual hard and frenzied way. He didn't want to spook her again, like last time. He was going to do this right. He was going to take his time, there was no need to rush.

Sakura ran her hands over his chest, trying to find the ties to his robe. Gaara holding her so close made that a little difficult, but soon enough the outer robe was lose around his shoulders and Sakura pushed it open, so she could get at the inner one. Gaara shrugged it off his shoulders and moved his lips to her neck, hands moving behind her to touch the skin on her back, making her tremble. He carefully played with the edges of her dress, gauging her reaction. When she didn't object, he moved them to the bed, lying Sakura down. He supported himself over her and looked at her. Sakura put her mouth to his and he moved his hands down her legs to the hem of her dress, pulling it up slightly. When she still didn't protest, he pulled it up, Sakura shifting to help, over her head, dropping it to the side.

Sakura paused then, her bravery quailing. With her dress gone, just lying there in her underwear with Gaara over her, she felt terribly exposed. Nervously she moved her arms down, trying to block her body from Gaara's view. Gaara growled low in his throat and kissed her, whispering in her ear, "What are being shy about?"

She looked up at him. The lamp on the side cast everything in an intimate glow, and she had to look away from him. "I…I'm embarrassed."

"Don't be," Gaara said simply, kissing her deeply. Sakura's hands eventually uncovered her body to move around him, holding him close. Gaara's hands traveled down, exploring her body. Her muscles flexed and tightened under his touch, her whole body vibrating with nervous energy. He pulled away long enough to look at her face and couldn't help but smile.

"What's so funny?" Sakura demanded, self-conscious and quickly pulling her hands away to cover herself.

"Don't do that," Gaara argued, pulling her hands away. "I'm happy, Sakura. Very, very happy."

She made a face, her emotions getting the better of her. "I wish you wouldn't act like this is so easy. It seems like it comes naturally to you, and here I am, fumbling along, feeling scared and totally inexperienced with what's going on, and…"

"And you think I'm not inexperienced?" Gaara questioned. "Sakura, don't say that. I'm just as nervous as you. I'm just better at bluffing," he said as he kissed her neck, her chest, her belly. Sakura shivered and squirmed, closing her eyes for a moment before he kissed her mouth again.

She held his face to hers, trying to relax. To act confident. Like she wasn't freaking out on the inside. She pushed herself up slightly and found the ties for Gaara's inner robe, fingers fumbling with it. Gaara leaned back to help her. As it came off, Sakura met eyes with Gaara, holding her breath.

Gaara frowned, sensing she was scared. He was so close to his goal…but did he want to do this when she didn't?

He took a deep breath. "Sakura, are you sure? I…I won't be angry if you say no."

She stared at him. He was really willing to wait, wasn't he? "Gaara, I won't do that to you again."

He frowned. Damn it, she was going to push him, wasn't she? "Look, I'm serious. I'm asking _you _what _you _want."

"I want this," Sakura said, pulling his face to hers. "I do."

Gaara returned the kiss, all the aggression and frustration he had been holding back coming out. He pressed her into the mattress, kicking off the remains of his robe. Sakura wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he settled back over her, planting kisses along her neck. Her hands found his shoulders and Gaara turned his eyes to her face, staring at her. She returned the look, and gave him as small, timid smile. Gaara lowered his eyelids and kissed her on the mouth, trying to explain in the kiss what he wanted to say but couldn't figure out how to. Sakura understood and kissed him back, her grip on his shoulders tightening.

Right then, she thought about telling him she loved him. But she didn't want him to say it back, not just then. She didn't want him to feel obligated to say it after she did, so she kept her mouth shut. She knew he loved her, even if he hadn't realized it yet. And that was enough for her. He could tell her on his own time, when he figured it out for himself.

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**I was unsure how to end this chapter, but I don't think I did too bad of a job. I (kind of) like how this is right now.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Thanks for the feedback on my last chapter. Enjoy reading.**

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Gaara woke with his vision completely blocked out by a shade of pink. Blinking sleepily, he shifted and saw he had his head tucked up against Sakura's, face buried in her hair. He watched her sleep for a moment, then carefully pulled away and sat up, his back cracking.

It was cold without her pressed against him. He glanced at the bed and fixed the blanket around Sakura's legs, which had gotten kicked around and twisted. His eyes trailed up to the rest of her body, and after staring for a moment, he pulled the blanket up to cover the rest of her too. She mumbled in her sleep and clenched at the sheets, pulling them closer. Gaara watched her silently, thinking about the previous night.

He felt content. Peaceful. Lying next to Sakura, fulfilled and happy…he didn't want this morning to end. He wanted more mornings like this. He wanted every day to be like this.

Gaara lay back down and moved to her, gently pulling her closer. He wanted to feel her warm and soft body against his again.

Sakura woke to Gaara kissing her cheek. When he saw her eyes open, he pulled away and whispered, "Good morning."

She stared at him for a moment and said it back, still half asleep. He was being rather affectionate, wasn't he? As she moved to sit up, she realized neither of them had any clothes on. Memories from the previous night flooded her mind, and her face grew hot.

In one motion she snatched the blankets around her chest, sat up and moved to the farthest part of the bed from Gaara. Gaara gave her a look and said, "What is it?"

She had to look away from him, in all his bare chest glory (marked with a few scratches and what looked suspiciously like a bite mark on his shoulder, Sakura was mortified to see). She covered her face with her hands, groaning

"Sakura…?" Gaara trailed off.

"Give me a minute," she mumbled through her fingers. The previous night kept replaying in her mind, and she could not get it out of her head.

Gaara smirked. She looked adorable. "Come here," he said, moving across the mattress.

"Gaara…"

He pounced, rolling on top of her and pushing her onto the mattress. She glared up at him and Gaara just kept that smirk on his face. He kissed her neck, finding her hands and entwining their fingers.

Sakura winced and Gaara pulled away, looking at her questioningly. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I—um," she blushed, "I'm still sore from last night."

"Sore? From wh—oh. Oh! Er, sorry." He quickly got off her, looking guilty.

"Its fine," Sakura said, tucking her hair behind her ear, still blushing. "Um…"

Gaara made a face and pulled her against his chest. "Don't let this be weird," he said, moving her into his lap. Sakura cried in protest and struggled to keep the blanket around her. Gaara scowled. "Why are being shy?"

"Because I'm embarrassed! And put some clothes on!" she ordered, trying to crawl away. Gaara wrapped an arm around her waist and held her still.

"Sakura…who was it exactly who took my clothes off?" he asked slyly. Sakura stilled, making a face. She could see their clothes strewn about on the floor, half of Gaara's inner robe on the mattress. Positive he had her attention, he leaned back against the pillows, wrapping his other arm around her. "Come on. Don't you want a quiet morning together?"

She turned to look at him. "Do _you_?" she asked quizzically.

He frowned at her tone of voice. "You said you were…sore. I'm not going to push it."

Sakura bit her lip, worried. "But…don't you want to…?"

He chuckled, kissing her neck. "Of course."

"Oh good," Sakura said, feeling relieved. Gaara frowned, looking questioningly at her. She hesitated, then said, "I was worried…that you might not have been…um, satisfied, I guess."

"Not satisfied?" Gaara asked, surprised. She was worried about something like that? "Sakura, how could I not be satisfied? You're everything I could ever hope for." She blushed, thinking over what he had said. It was unusual for him to be so sincere. But she wasn't about to complain. Gaara paused, then asked slowly, "…were you?"

"Was I what?"

Gaara shifted uncomfortably. He coughed and asked hurriedly, "Satisfied?"

Sakura was silently for a moment, then twisted in Gaara's arms so she could see his expression. He was watching her closely, almost nervously, but when he saw she was looking at him he tried to look less interested, as if he had asked nonchalantly. She smiled, and Gaara practically squirmed, only his pride keeping him still. "Yes," she admitted, pulling herself closer to him. "Very, very satisfied," she said as she kissed him.

Male ego now assured, Gaara grinned and relaxed, sliding his hands over her. As the kiss lengthened, Gaara broke away and whispered in her ear, "Sakura…just how sore are you, now?"

"Not…not that bad," she said quietly. As she shifted, her eyes fell on the clock. "But I really should be getting ready for work…"

"Work shmurk," Gaara grumbled as he kissed her, rolling them over.

"Gaara…the hospital…"

"It will be able to handle you being a little—or a lot—late. I, on the other hand, need you _now_."

Sakura couldn't help but giggle as Gaara kissed her neck. "Kyoko will kill me, you know," she warned, though she was hardly objecting as she ran her hands through his already sleep mussed hair.

"Tell her," he kissed her mouth, "that you had an emergency with the Kazekage that needed immediate attention."

"Like what? That you suddenly jumped me in bed?" Sakura forced out as he turned his attention to her ear.

"Say that I injured myself and you had to help me."

"She won't believe that, you know," Sakura argued

.

Gaara pulled away long enough to throw her a quick, irritated glance. "Sakura, in all honestly, I don't really care about that right now."

She couldn't think of anything witty to reply with.

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By the time Sakura rushed to the hospital, Kyoko was not happy. She was late, and if Kyoko was capable, Sakura was sure she would have strung her up from the ceiling and beaten her like a piñata. She looked pissed. When the inevitable question came of just what had delayed her, Sakura muttered something about the Kazekage needing her attentions, but Kyoko wasn't really paying any attention. She snapped at Sakura some more, then sent her off.

Despite getting the third degree from Kyoko, Sakura couldn't help herself from being cheery that day. Many of the nurses commented on it, and some of the patients she saw daily asked her what had made her so happy, but she just smiled and went on with her work, leaving them to wonder.

For her lunch break she had planned on slipping home and seeing if she could whip something up for her and Gaara to share. Just as she left the hospital, she was surprised to run into Subaru. He grinned as he saw her and matched her pace, asking, "I was wondering when I would get to see you. So, it's been a week, and what do you think?"

Sakura cocked her head. "Of what?"

"My offer, that I made a while ago."

"Oh, that. Right." Sakura thought about calling him a skirt chaser—after seeing him in the market with the shop girl, she had asked around her co-workers, and they had filled her in on how Subaru…got around. She was a little insulted now, after finding all that out, that he would dare ask someone of her stature such a thing. But she would be polite about this. "I'm going to have to decline. Sorry."

He frowned, but in all honestly, didn't seem to take much of a hit. "Oh? Why's that?"

Sakura smiled at him. "I mentioned you to some of the doctors and nurses at the hospital." Subaru winced. "Oh, so you remember them? Many of them seemed to already be involved with you, so I thought I shouldn't complicate your life." She waved and picked up speed, leaving Subaru standing in the middle of the street.

Deciding that she didn't want to waste time making lunch, Sakura picked up a bento for two and went to the Kazekage building, happy to see that Gaara was alone in his office. He was pleased to see her too. Pulling a chair to the side of his desk, Sakura presented the food and made Gaara even happier. They talked quietly, Sakura holding off her bubbly/embarrassed/unsure mood, thoughts constantly going back to the previous night (and earlier morning), trying to act normal. Gaara felt a somewhat similar, both content and a little sure how to continue.

Awkward feelings aside, they spent some nice, quiet time together. When Gaara asked about what the plans were for that night, Sakura reluctantly told him that Kyoko had forced her to do an all-nighter for being late that morning. Gaara frowned, feeling guilty for being the cause of that punishment, but couldn't quite say that he would of rather _not_ had made her late.

There was a quick knock on the door and Izumi let himself in, saying, "Sir, do you want me to send Kimi—" he paused when he saw Sakura. "Miss Haruno, good afternoon. What is the reason for this visit?"

Sakura smiled at the old man. "I brought the Kazekage some lunch," she said pleasantly.

Izumi glanced at the bento between the two. "Ah, so I see. I guess Kimi doesn't have to run out and get anything, after all." He hesitated, about to ask what the two had been talking about, then decided against it. "Is there anything you need, or may I go and get myself something to eat?"

"Go ahead, Izumi," Gaara said. The old man nodded his head and let himself out.

Sakura nibbled the end of her chopsticks and watched him leave. "He didn't seem that surprised to see us together," she noted.

Gaara merely shrugged. "Sometimes he picks up things you wouldn't expect him to…and sometimes he remains completely oblivious to other things. He could list a perfect detail of a person the moment he met them, but last year he was totally shocked when Kimi gave him a gift for his birthday, having forgotten about it."

Sakura frowned, wondering if that meant Izumi didn't have a clue as to what was going on between the two of them, or if that meant he had a pretty good idea of what they were doing the previous night.

---------

Back in the hospital, Kyoko was still in a fuming mood. She complained about Sakura taking too long for her lunch break, and pretty much about everything else from how her feet ached, how the nurse down the hall was incompetent, and how the shade of Sakura's hair was annoying. Sakura took this all silently, watching her. When Kyoko finally stopped to take a breath, Sakura said, "Kyoko are you alright?"

Her boss paused, taking time to actually look at Sakura and push the hair out of her face. "What?"

"When was the last time you took a break? Got off your feet?"

"What are you talking about?"

Sakura hesitated. "Kyoko, aren't you nearly eight and half months pregnant? You shouldn't be working like this."

"Of course I shouldn't!" Kyoko snapped, getting worked up again. "But there isn't anyone else to handle my job, and it's not like we can close down the hospital until I have the baby."

"Kyoko…I could do it."

"Do what?" the older woman asked.

"You're job. You've trained me enough, and I follow you around all the time so I know what you do. You need to take a break for the baby. I can handle doing this."

Kyoko stared at her. "You couldn't do this."

Sakura scowled, crossing her arms. "The first time we met you said you intended to train me to take your place. Why are you saying no now?"

"Well—you're not ready," Kyoko said mechanically.

"Oh really? I've dealt with every kind of problem this hospital has thrown at me. I know how it works, and I know everyone who works here. You taught me about the business side and just about everything else. It's time for you to go home and rest, for your baby." Sakura said it sternly, glaring down her boss, determined to change her mind.

Kyoko opened her mouth, then shut it again, then opened it. She didn't seem to able to process the fact that she could take a break. The idea apparently hadn't occurred to her. "Oh. Well," was all she could manage. She looked around for a chair and sat down.

"You deserve a break," Sakura said, pushing now that she was unsure. She wasn't quite sure that she could handle the hospital all by herself without a problem, but she was sure she could muddle her way through it. "Let me handle the hospital."

After a long, drawn out argument, Kyoko finally gave up, in which itself was proof of how really tired she was. She followed Sakura around for the rest of the day, directing all problems she got to her new stand in, monitoring how Sakura handled them. Hours later, Kyoko was almost upset Sakura hadn't failed and was forced to go home on Sakura's orders. Sakura stayed late that night, having to deal with all sorts of things. She was amazed that Kyoko handled all this in her current position, and had new respect for the woman.

---------

In the Kazekage office, Gaara kept glancing at the clock hanging on the wall. Such an innocent object it was, and yet Gaara's urge to destroy it was mounting. He wanted to see Sakura, and he wanted to see her _now. _He felt a little foolish for being so impatient, but there wasn't anything he could do about it.

Izumi was careful and cautious when in the office with his boss, confused by his mood. In the morning he had been practically _chipper, _which was enough to alarm Izumi in the first place, but now Gaara's mood was getting darker and darker. Izumi didn't know whether he should be relieved or worried. His few attempts at conversation had been obliterated by harsh growls and glares, and the poor man was at his wits end. He had multiple cases to present to him, but he didn't dare irritated the Kazekage any further, and kept the papers against his chest.

Gaara's gaze was now flicking from the clock, to the door, back to the papers he was reviewing for a few moments, then he would look back at the door, to the clock, and so on.

Fully aware that Izumi was watching him, Gaara tried not to throw a fit. In all honestly, he didn't quite understand why he was so antsy. He couldn't focus on his work. He kept reverting back to the previous night and would totally forget what he was trying to do at that moment, then blink and realize he was in his office. His robes were annoying him. His hand was hurting from holding a pen for so long. His arm was itchy.

Knowing he had to move else he would explode, Gaara made an excuse to get up by going over to the window. It wouldn't open. Biting his cheek sourly, Gaara tried to remain calm and he pulled a litter harder.

"Kazekage—"

"What?" Gaara snapped, turning around. In the same movement he yanked at the handle and it came off in his hand. He looked down stupidly, staring at it in his palm.

"Oh dear. I'll—"

"Go home," Gaara ordered, exasperated. Izumi opened his mouth, thought better of it, and hurriedly left the room. Gaara waited until he closed the door behind him, then chucked the handle at the wastebasket. It technically went in, but with the force he threw it with, it knocked over the receptacle onto its side, the contents spilling out.

Gaara glared at the mess he had created as if it were conspiring against him and considered punting it across the room to teach the waste basket a lesson. It took him a few seconds—in which he moved into kicking range—to see that abusing a trash can wouldn't make him feel any better and just make more of a mess.

Taking a few (semi) calm breaths, Gaara strode out of the room and went to the lobby. As he walked briskly out the doors, he said over his shoulder, "Kimi, would you mind cleaning up my office? I need to go do something."

The fresh air made him feel better. The sun had set not too long ago, and he made his way to the hospital. He had to see Sakura before he was tempted to attack anything else that reminded him of a trash barrel.

The hospital was abuzz with activity, only a few people noticing the Kazekage in their midst. Those who did see him bobbled their head respectfully and hurried on their way, too busy for anything else. The woman at the reception desk told him he could probably find Sakura in the chief doctor's office.

He didn't bother knocking and let himself in, immediately spotting Sakura with her head down on the desk. Hearing him enter, she groaned and sat up, saying, "What could possibly be wrong now?"

Seeing Gaara, she stopped, blinking. Gaara closed the door behind him. "Sounds like you and me had the same kind of day." She sat there, tension uncoiling instinctively at the sight of Gaara. "What are you doing in the chief doctor's office?"

Sakura glanced around, as if not having realized where she was. "I got promoted today…"

"Kyoko promoted you?" Gaara asked.

"I promoted myself," Sakura said, a little disgruntled. "And right now I'm kicking myself in the butt for it." She pushed herself out of her chair. "No wonder Kyoko's so witchy. If one more incompetent doctor walks through that door needing my help, I'm going to throttle him. But never mind all that," Sakura sighed, sounding tired. "I'm happy you're here." She crossed the room and hugged Gaara, leaning against him.

Gaara wrapped his arms around her, chin on her head. He felt himself relaxing and closed his eyes, stroking her hair. It was strange how something like that could make him feel more tired and renewed at the same time. Humming low in his throat, he took a few steps backward to plop into a large chair, pulling Sakura into his lap.

They sat there for a while, holding each other, letting themselves unwind and relax, if only for a moment. Sakura caught herself almost falling asleep and yawned, murmuring that she should probably get back to work. Gaara responded by holding her closer and mumbling something incoherent, nearly asleep himself. Sakura tried to protest, but all that came out was another yawn. Knowing she should really tell Gaara to go home so she could do her job—or at the very least lock the door so no one walked in and saw them together, but she couldn't find the will to move. Today had really exhausted her, and being held by Gaara just felt so nice and comforting…

There was a knock on her door. Gaara growled and held Sakura tighter, but she sighed and untangled herself, calling, "Just a second!"

She got to her feet and crossed over to the door, opening it. A nurse was standing there, and when she saw Sakura she said, "There's a patient that wants to see you."

Sakura frowned. "A patient? Asked for me?"

The nurse frowned, shrugging. "She demanded to see you, personally. She won't tell us why she's here and insists you're the one who examines her."

"What's wrong with her?" Sakura asked, confused. She'd never heard of a patient specifically asking for a certain doctor before.

"Like I said, she refuses to say anything before she sees you."

Sakura sighed. "What room is she in?"

"I put her in 206."

"Alright, give me a minute and then I'll go down." Sakura closed the door. Turning to Gaara, she made an unhappy face. "I'm sorry. I have to deal with this."

"Its fine," Gaara grumbled, though to be truthful he wasn't happy about it. But he wasn't going to make Sakura feel guilty. "I should be going home anyway. I'm just happy I got to see you." He kissed her quickly and left, Sakura frowning at his back.

Was going to have a relationship like this going to be difficult, now that both of them had so important jobs? Sakura couldn't abandon the hospital to give attention to Gaara, and he certainly couldn't do that to the village. Sighing again, Sakura walked down to the room the nurse gave her and opened the door. "You wanted to see me?"

A girl a little older than Sakura looked up from the chair she was sitting on. She had long black hair and civilian clothes on. She eyed Sakura cautiously and asked, "You're the ambassador from Konoha?"

"Yes. Now why did you come to see me?" Sakura kept her impatience out of her voice, if the girl had come to the hospital, she most likely had a problem.

The girl hesitated, biting her lip. "I…I know most of the staff here, and I didn't want to have anyone who knew me to find out. Will this be kept confidential?" she asked.

Sakura furrowed her brow, beginning to get concerned. "Yes, of course. No one else needs to know what we talk about here. Tell me what's wrong."

The girl took a deep breath. "My names Akane. Akane Noda." She talked slowly. "I got out of work late last night, and it was already dark. When I was heading back to my home…I—someone attacked me."

Sakura clenched her jaw, looking at the girl's face. She meant more than attacked, didn't she?

But the girl continued. "He dragged me into an alley way and pushed me against the wall. When I tried to scream he covered my mouth. I tried to get away, but—he was just so strong I…" here the girl stopped, having to look down for a few moments. When she began again, she kept her eyes on the floor. "He kept grabbing me and touching me. I…"

Sakura sat down next to the girl. "Did he rape you?" she asked quietly.

Akane shook her head. "No. Thank god, no. A group of loud people began to come into the alley way and they spooked him. He took off. I ran in the opposite direction, not stopping when the people tried to find out what happened. When I got home—I live alone, you see—I couldn't process. I can't remember what I did before I came here."

Sakura nodded, not knowing what to say. She was furious, to know that a predator was roaming the streets she walked in every day and hadn't been caught. She also wanted to comfort the girl, but didn't know how. Even though she had been in the medical field for so long, she had never had to deal with something like this. "Akane, do you know who attacked you? You need to file a report, and did he hurt you anywhere?"

Akane shook her head, though Sakura didn't know what she was shaking her head to. She pulled up the sleeves of her shirt and the high collar down. Sakura could see bruise marks of fingers on her wrists and arms, what might be bite marks and more bruises on her neck. "I…I can't file a report. No one will believe me."

"Akane, you've got evidence right there!" Sakura said, pointing at her arms. Her fingers itched to heal them, but she knew to leave them alone so Akane had proof of what happened. "Tell me who did this to you. I promise that I'll find him and give him what he deserves."

The girl met her eyes. "It was the Kazekage. Sabaku no Gaara was the person who attacked me." Sakura stared at her, speechless. The girl went on, "That's why I was afraid to come to anyone else. He's the leader of this village, no one would dare accuse him. They're not strong enough. You're the only person I know who has a position that has enough power to go against him." Akane looked at him with big eyes, on the verge of tears. "Please, you need to understand. I need your help."

Sakura couldn't think of what to do. She knew that Gaara couldn't—wouldn't—have done something like this. She was with him all last night, there was no way. And yet the girl had bruises on her and was accusing Gaara of being her attacker. That wasn't possible. It just couldn't be.

"What do I do now?" Akane asked, desperate.

Sakura swallowed hard. This girl's distress was real, no matter what had happened. "I need to figure out what to do. Come see me tomorrow. Do you have anything you need me to take care of?" The girl shook her head. "Alright. I—I'll figure out how to handle this."

Sakura walked the girl out of the hospital, head reeling. Similar situations had happened before like this at the hospital. Civilians would come in with injuries and accuse someone of hurting them. The doctor on duty would then fill out a report, then send it to the Kazekage and let him either figure out a punishment or hand down to someone lower on the food chain to deal with it.

This wasn't that kind of situation. If there was a different kage, Sakura wouldn't be able to hand in the report—how would a kage actually punish themselves for a crime? They'd just sweep it under the rug—along with anyone involved.

But this was Gaara, and Sakura knew for a fact he wasn't the attacker. Even if she hadn't known Gaara, he was with her the entire night. There was no chance for him to sneak out, randomly attack a girl, and sneak back in for the morning.

Sakura didn't know what to do. She quickly headed for Gaara's home—she had to talk to him and work this out. Praying that he hadn't gone back to his office, Sakura let herself into the Sabaku household.

The kitchen was empty, so was the living room. Hurrying up the stairs, Sakura quickly opened the door to Gaara's bedroom.

Gaara gave a bit of a start when she strode in, letting go of the tie on his robe. "Sakura…? How did you get in?"

"We need to talk, _now._"

-----

**Big problems for Gaara are coming up, and the story should be wrapping up soon. I was unsure about adding the end part to this chapter, but it's too big of a thing to start a new chapter with. A little out of left field, I know…**


	22. Chapter 22

**I'm a little aggravated with myself. I've had the ending plot set out for a while, but I totally failed to build up to it. So if the plot seems a little random, trust me, it's me, not you.**

------

"This girl said _what_?" Gaara demanded, fists curling in anger. "She's crazy! She's lying!"

Sakura crossed her arms. "Gaara, of course I know that. But she had bruises…and I almost believed her."

"I didn't attack her," Gaara hissed.

Sakura threw up her hands. "Of course I know that! But I think someone did. Someone might have disguised themselves as you with a jutsu, or something like that."

"Why?" Gaara was having trouble controlling his temper. Usually he just ignored people that talked about him. But this was just plain inexcusable slander. To be accused of a crime, and something so serious, made him furious. And to top if off, Sakura was the first to hear about it.

"I don't know," Sakura cried desperately, her mind going a hundred miles per hour and still not figuring anything out.

"Why would someone make that up?"

"Gaara…I don't think she made it up. I told you, she had bruises, and I really believed her when she told me."

"I did not touch her!"

"I know!" Sakura yelled back, not knowing what to do. "Like I said, I think someone disguised themselves! Can you think of why someone would do this?"

"Of course not! Do you think I know people who would do this kind of thing?" Gaara demanded.

"No!" Sakura replied, jaw tightening. "And I don't need you in my face acting like I caused this!"

Gaara blinked, stopping. He hadn't realized he'd been yelling at her. Taking a slow breath, he closed his eyes. "I'm sorry. It's just, I don't know what to do."

"I don't either! This isn't the way it was supposed to work out!" Sakura put her hands to her face. She didn't know where this wave of emotion was coming from, but she couldn't hold it back. "My first day as head of the hospital, and this happens! Not only that, but finally, when we actually sleep together, and the next day someone is accusing you of trying to rape them! Why can't anything go right?" Sakura demanded, eyes pricking with tears. "I mean, some sort of crap like this always happens! I'm so sick of it!"

Gaara stared at her, rage immediately ebbing. "Sakura…"

"Gaara, you have no idea how happy I was this morning! I thought everything was going to be better now, be perfect, because we had finally gotten over sex, which we always fought about! And now I have to deal with this? Damn it!" Sakura looked around for something to throw or crush, but everything looked too valuable. "Damn it!" she snapped again, face scrunching up.

Gaara hesitated for a second, then stepped forward quickly and pulled her to him. "Don't be so upset," he grumbled into her hair, wrapping his arms tightly around her. "I can't stand it when you cry."

"I wasn't crying," Sakura mumbled back, even as she sniffed and wiped her face on his shoulder. Gaara huffed out a small chuckle, running his hand through her hair.

Sakura squeezed Gaara, pressing her face into his shoulder. It wasn't often she broke down or cried, but she felt like she could let herself go for a bit with Gaara. He wouldn't think any worse of her, she knew. Before, she was always afraid of showing Gaara a lot of her feelings or too much emotion, but now she knew better. It felt good to let her guards down.

But now wasn't the time for her to relax. There was a huge problem going on, and she shouldn't be spending time ignoring it. Tugging him tighter for a moment, Sakura sighed and stepped back, letting him go. Gaara watched her silently, feeling along the same. He wanted to keep holding her, he wanted to go back to how things had been that morning. Light, warm. A little awkward, of course, but no big problems. Just being happy. He had a feeling it would be a while before things were like that again if this fake accusation didn't go away.

"Why don't you stay the night?" Gaara asked, wanting her to stay with him.

Sakura shook her head slightly. "No. I shouldn't. I need to think. I'll…maybe I'll see you tomorrow."

------

The next day, as Sakura went to the hospital—an extra hour early, mind—her thoughts were in a flurry. She hadn't sleep well. She dreaded seeing Akane again, and threw herself into work to avoid thinking about it, else she drive herself crazy.

Going over Kyoko's general notes she had left for her, she had plenty of things to do. It had been a while since an overall hygiene check had gone over the entire hospital, and she and some other free doctors hunted around for any violations. She had to deal with a fight that occurred between patients—which wasn't hard to do, considering her training and the facts the patients were both on crutches. She had to restrain a girl from killing her boyfriend for getting her pregnant. A nurse fell down the stairs and Sakura had to heal her broken wrist, once the nurse that had come running to her had stopped laughing long enough to tell her what happened.

It was just as Sakura was making her last rounds and getting ready to leave when she realized Akane never came.

She didn't know what to think. At first she was worried. Had something happened to Akane? Was she too scared to come back? As Sakura thought over this, her apprehension grew. She wanted to check on her, but Akane had given her no information on where she lived. No address, no workplace.

With nothing else to do, Sakura dejectedly walked home. She could hardly search the streets for her.

That night Sakura once again sleep poorly. Two days in a row with little sleep wasn't doing her good. She arrived at the hospital, keeping her eyes open for Akane, but she still didn't show. Getting frustrated, Sakura forced herself to push away her worries and work with her patients.

------

Gaara sat in his chair, seething quietly. Izumi stood by his side, reading the report. "Sir, the economics minister has also been found of taking bribes. Many of the higher ups in the Academy have come forward, claiming they've received offers for bribes."

Gaara slowly turned the pen in his hand, fighting his anger and trying to piece all this together. Another scandal had suddenly reared its ugly head. Many important, powerful, and influential members of the Suna community had, after some great sooth work of Izumi, been found in suspicion of being un-loyal to the village—or, more correctly, Gaara. Izumi had first realized this by going over paperwork of income and other business after one of the lower secretaries had gotten sick and stayed home. He had found some strange irregularities in them—sudden promotions, jumps in paychecks.

Gaara eyed the papers in front of him, splayed out on his desk. A near half of the ministers, powerful families, had some strange information against them. "And just what…" Gaara said slowly, "did the Academy people say they were being bribed for?"

Izumi frowned. "All presented similar letters, all vague. Suggesting change in power, promising better—wealthier—lives. Some of the trained jounin tried to follow it up on their own, trying to uncover what was going on, but they must have been found out, because they suddenly stopped receiving any offers."

Izumi sighed and spread out even more papers on the desk. "Sir, I'm not sure how to proceed. I'm disgusted by not having seen this sooner."

Gaara put a hand on his mouth for a few moments, trying to figure out a perfect solution. Someone, or many someones, was trying to pull Suna out from under his feet. What was that certain someone trying to achieve?

"Please gather all the ones who came forward here. I want to speak with them, and thank them for being loyal. It looks like I'm going to need all the allies I can get."

For the rest of the day, and well into the night, Gaara met with loyal Suna villagers and spoke with them. He got as much detail as he could from them, but found out little. They all had the same information. He learned out nearly nothing new. Finally he thanked them and sent them home, having to stop least he loose his temper.

Gaara was brimming with fury. Someone was threatening him—and likewise, his village. He didn't know why. He didn't know who. He didn't really know how. He hardly had a handful of useful people he knew he could trust.

Gaara didn't return home that night. He stayed in the office, trying desperately to work this all together. He was _not _about to allow someone to overthrow him.

The next day Gaara called an immediate meeting with the council members. They all met in the council room and sat down, some grumbling about how this wasn't planned, others curious about what was going on. Once everyone had arrived, Gaara informed them of the scandal that had been uncovered, carefully watching their faces.

Since the council members' business and money dealings weren't recorded on paper, Gaara couldn't know if some—or all—were involved in this. Many appeared shocked, some outraged. None of them didn't seem surprised, but Gaara hadn't been expecting to find something so obvious.

As Gaara released the details he knew, many began to argue. They continued to bicker back and forth ideas, Gaara not contributing unless someone spoke directly to him. He was busy analyzing their ideas, who accused who of what, who simply appeared baffled. When a slight calm came back and civilized talk began again, everyone wanted to talk to Gaara at once.

"But how could this happen?" Lord Gene asked.

"_How _many ministers are under suspicion?" Lady Genma demanded, shocked.

"I don't understand how on earth this could happen." Lord Kyon said, shaking his head.

"Well obviously, someone is pulling the strings," Lord Hue put in.

"But why? I don't see the point."

Gaara sat there silently. They were all talking to him, but none waited for a response. Finally, he leaned forward and placed his hands on the table. All talking ceased. "We need to go through this carefully. Lord Gene, what is your opinion?"

"I don't know what to think," the middle aged man admitted. "I'm having trouble believing it. I mean, I have many friends—or so I thought—that are on that list," he said, waving his hand at the list of names of people under suspicion.

"Lady Sole?"

"Foreign power," the old woman said with a nod of her head. "Perhaps the people who were controlling the incident from the previous year, when Suna ninjas were under attack. The problem never did meet an acceptable end. I don't believe there are any old vendettas from others villages, so this must be a power play."

"Lord Kyon?"

"I believe Sole may be right, but there must be some people involved inside our government. These names…" he looked at the list. "They're strong people. Someone knew who to target. I don't see a reason though."

Gaara nodded. "Lord Hue?"

The man rubbed his chin. "All the things suggested make sense. I'm not sure if there's anything I can add the other members haven't added."

Turning to the last member, Gaara asked, "And Lord Kiran? You're ideas?"

The man shrugged. "About the person behind this? I'm not sure. All I can think of is that our operation is disgustingly weak. For so many people to be under suspicion? This must have been working for quite some time, and yet no one picked up on this. Along with considering this new enemy, I say we look at ourselves and consider reorganizing."

"Reorganizing?" Gaara asked.

"Obviously, some higher ups are not loyal. Something isn't right."

"How long do you think this has been going on?" Lady Sole asked the room.

"A few months at least," Lord Kyon answered.

"What have you noticed that has changed in the last few months?" asked Gaara.

The members thought for a few moments. "There have been a few promotions that seem odd, now with this information we've been presented with."

"Well, now we know why."

"The ambassador program has been put into action," Lord Hue put in.

"I don't see how this is connected."

"Hasn't the ambassador been allowed a lot of freedom, and access to certain files?"

Gaara sucked on his tongue, not wanting to show any outward signs of annoyance or frustration. "Certain files? The ambassador works in the hospital. The only files she sees are medical ones."

"Still, we must take into consideration she's been given a high level of trust, and that she's from another village," Lady Sole said, again thinking of the foreign power play.

"We have a strong alliance with Konoha," Gaara argued. "Why would their ambassador try to undermine Suna?"

"Perhaps Konoha isn't as trustworthy as we think."

"Need I remind you that Konoha—their ambassador specifically—was the one who aided me in taking down the incident from last year when our ninjas were being threatened."

Gaara noticed Lord Hue and some of the others frown at his protection for Konoha and realized he might be bringing too much attention to the subject. But then Lord Kiran nodded his head. "That's right. The Hokage risked her own to help save ours. Why bother if she was planning on attacking us anyway? If that were so, she wouldn't have been so adamant at protecting our people, and would have let the incident weaken us."

With little to work on, the council members were determined to stick to this topic until they had completely looked at it from every angle. "The ambassador herself then. Perhaps she has been swayed by whoever is causing all this chaos within our village. Do we know if she has been bribed?"

Gaara ground his teeth, but didn't rise to protect her. He didn't want to continue brining attention to this. Coolly, sounding disinterested, he said, "She works at the hospital. How would she be capable of manipulating anyone from something like that? The hospital isn't connected to the government."

"She's gotten a promotion lately," Lady Genma noted, picking up a paper that sat on the table listing business information. Her eyebrows lifted. "Chief doctor. Highest position she could get. I think that's rather suspicious, don't you, seeing that others suspected have gotten similar promotions?"

Gaara couldn't argue that, but Lord Kiran came to his aid. "The previous chief doctor is eight months pregnant. Surely this Haruno is merely filling in. Unless you think that it was her plan all along for the doctor to get pregnant and take maternal leave so she could take over, before she was even suggested as ambassador?"

Still, the council members weren't convinced. "She has access to medical files, you said," Lord Kyon directed at Gaara. "Then surely that means out ninja, too. Certain weaknesses, unhealed injuries must be listed. That would be valuable to another power trying to figure an attack plan on Suna."

"I say we bring her in to talk to her in person."

----

Sakura was very surprised, needless to say, when Kimi appeared at work, out of breath and distressed, telling her she was needed in the council member meeting. At first she just scoffed, saying she couldn't leave, she was running the hospital. Kimi replied it was urgent and she was commanded to appear.

Apprehensive, Sakura hurried to the meeting. What could be going on? Did this concern Akane? Were they accusing Gaara of attacking her?

When she got into the room, she first looked at Gaara. He met her eyes, instantly conveying this was not his idea and he was not happy. Swallowing, she addressed the room. "You requested me?"

"Miss Haruno, a plot has been discovered within Suna's governing system. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?" Lady Sole asked.

Sakura blinked. What? Confused, Sakura just stuck to what she knew. "No, I don't. I haven't heard of anything like that."

"Really? Care to explain the details of your sudden promotion?"

Sakura frowned, not understanding. "My boss Kyoko is pregnant. She's going to have a baby soon. She can't be working in that condition, and I training anyway to replace her."

Some of the council members cocked their heads slightly or rose eyebrows. Again Sakura glanced at Gaara, but his face revealed nothing.

"I believe you have gotten the answers to your questions," Gaara said smoothly, eager to get Sakura away from the line of fire. "I think she'd better return to the hospital, least she neglect her patients."

"Wait a moment." Lord Hue raised his hand. "While she's here, I think this would be a great opportunity to question her. She might have a different point of view on this. She's closer to the people than we are, she might know things."

Sakura stood there, feeling uncomfortable. She didn't know if she was expected to respond, nothing had been asked.

Lord Hue continued. "Miss Haruno, lately…have you noticed anything among the people? Talking about corruption, or gossip of the government heads acting in ways they shouldn't?"

Sakura's mind immediately came to the problem with Akane. But she knew that wasn't true. Carefully choosing her words, Sakura said slowly, "Corruption? I'm certain I don't know what you mean. I don't hear much about people's lives; few patients like to talk to me much. I deal with the more serious ones, there's hardly an atmosphere to gossip while I work."

Lord Hue narrowed his eyes. "So you haven't dealt with anything serious, concerning the government?"

Gaara scowled. "What are you getting at, Lord Hue?"

The man looked around the room, from face to face. He sighed and said, "I don't believe now is the time to bring this up—or, maybe it is, I can't be sure—but I've heard a few complaints against you, Kazekage."

The council members blinked, confused at the sudden change in conversation. Lord Hue said, "I was planning on informing everyone this at our next meeting, but now with such a threat to the village, I think I should inform you of my doubts as the Kazekage's place in power."

Many of the council members looked confused. Sakura felt anger grow in her belly. She didn't like this man.

Gaara stared coldly at the councilman as he continued. "I was trying to get Miss Haruno to admit of something she had been confronted with the other day. I'm sure she's too afraid to talk against the Kazekage because his abuse of power, but—he has been accused of raping a woman," he announced.

Gaara's hands clutched tightly at the armrests of his chair as gasps rippled through the council members, fury mounting. What was he playing at?

"I don't see how this boy in front of us is suited for the amount of power he has been given. He obviously uses his power to intimidate and use people, and that is not the kind of leader we can have while trying to fight such a problem within our community."

Gaara glared at him. "Those accusations are false. I never touched the girl."

"So you know what I'm talking about," Lord Hue said, near smug. "And how are you going to deny it? The attack was the night of the winter ball—you left early. No one saw you that night after you left." Gaara grimly saw that Lord Hue had done his homework. His fury stopped him from thinking any farther than that, though.

"That's not true," Sakura said suddenly.

The council members all turned, surprised. They had forgotten she was there. Sakura ignored their stares. "The Kazekage was with me."

Lord Hue looked startled to see her opposing him. He quickly gathered himself and rounded on her. "Well, knowing that you live in the same building that he works in, that doesn't surprise me. But one mere sighting of him, young lady, isn't enough to wave away such a serious accusation."

Sakura narrowed her eyes at his condescending tone. "Don't talk to me like I know nothing. I didn't mean that I saw the Kazekage once. He was with me the entire night," she told him.

As the implication of the remark sunk in, the council members blinked and glanced between Gaara and Sakura. All serious problems aside, they had never heard of their Kazekage being involved with anyone, certainly not a foreign ninja girl. She ignored them, keeping her eyes on Lord Hue.

The man's face was red. He looked angry at how much trouble she was giving him and stood so he was eyelevel with her. "Well, no wonder now you wouldn't accuse Gaara of having attacked that girl! You've been sleeping with him!"

"That accusation was false!" Gaara said loudly, pushing himself out of his chair. He had enough of being accused of hurting that girl.

Lord Hue paid him no mind. Now that his plan had been turned on its head, he planned to smear the name of anyone in his way. "No wonder you got the ambassador position—being in the Kazekage's special favor must certainly have some perks! Another great example of how the Kazekage abuses his power."

Sakura clenched her jaw in rage. "I was a candidate for the position because of my knowledge, not out of a free ride from the Kazekage, as you so put it."

"I'm so certain," he argued, sneering.

Sakura glared at him. "I _earned _my ambassador title from hard work and effort."

"Sure," he snapped. "On your knees, maybe."

The council members gasped at the crude insinuation, shocked at Hue's change in demeanor. As absolute fury rose in Sakura, she had a decision to make. Whether to hold back Gaara, or beat him to the punch and destroy the council member herself.

She leaped forward and grabbed Gaara's arm as he moved to lunge, using her strength to hold him as he tugged at her grip. Over her shoulder she shouted, "I earned that position with my work in Chiba, saving countless lives, and at your own hospital, helping your people every single day! I was chosen for the program because I was the best candidate," she seethed.

Lord Hue did not even seem remotely aware that his life was in absolute danger and continued to oppose her. "If that's true, why would you lie about not having been approached by the girl that monster attacked?"

Sakura opened her mouth to snap at him that the whole situation was false, when something clicked. It surprised her so much that her anger was misplaced for a moment. "How did you know about that?" she asked suddenly.

"What?"

"How did you know? About the girl, and the attack? I hadn't made a report on it, and she claimed to not have gone to anyone else."

Lord Hue backpedaled. "Don't try to change the subject, you harlot."

"Changing the subject?" Sakura demanded. "You're the one who brought it up! Tell me how you knew about that!"

As Lord Hue continued to be silent, more things fell into place in her head. Hue had been very interested in talking to her the night of the ball trying to find out information about her, and it was obvious he didn't like Gaara. No—even you wouldn't—did you bribe that girl to accuse Gaara?"

The council members were having trouble keeping up with the rapid fight, but they caught that. They all turned and looked at Hue. Seeming intimidated by all the attention on such a detail, Hue stumbled over his words. "What are you talking about?"

Sakura couldn't believe it. She was right. "That girl was an actor, wasn't she? I thought there was something off about the way she acted…too…" Sakura swallowed. As personally insulted as she was about the thought that a girl had been almost raped, the idea that someone had made that up was ten times worse. All the things started to come together in her mind. "That's what you planned. You told her to come to me. I'm the only one not under the Kazekage's thumb with enough power to oppose him! You planned that I would come right out and accuse Gaara of attacking her, didn't you?" Hue's scrambling for words was enough to confirm it. "How would it look," she addressed Gaara, "if the ambassador from Konoha accused you of attacking one of your own people?"

"Enough to sever the alliance," Gaara said quietly, beginning to pick up on what Sakura was realizing. "Enough to have my people doubt me—hate and distrust me. Who would want a Kazekage that preyed on his people?"

"It goes along with the overthrow plan," Lord Gene said quietly. The council began to come to life.

"It makes sense."

"Someone from high up, controlling the people, trying to overthrow the Kazekage."

"Tell me, Hue," Lady Sole said coldly. "How much did you have to pay the girl to say that Gaara attacked her? Did you put the bruises on her yourself?"

Seeing that the council had turned against him and he had no support, Hue's face grew a dangerous red from frustration and anger. "Don't believe their lies!" he shouted. "They're obviously lying to you! What would I have to gain from overthrowing the Kazekage?"

Lord Kyon said quietly, "Plenty. Someone would have to take his place. The people like you, you'd have a good chance of ending up in the Kazekage chair. Or perhaps you're in league with another village?"

"Get out of my sight," Gaara hissed. Sakura felt him trembling slightly, she was sure he was still struggling to repress his urge to destroy him for the remark he had made about Sakura. "Lady Genma, could you get Izumi and tell him to call the black ops? I'm sure Hue would enjoy an escort to our top security prison."

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**I feel like I did a poor job of leading up to the climax of the story, because yes, this is almost the end. But I'm not going to complain—not matter how much I want to. Let me know what you think, remember, I live for reviews! Not that much happened in this, but anyway.**


	23. Chapter 23

**I hadn't put much thought to the epilogue (if you can call it that) to this, so it might seem a little brief. I wanted to leave it vague and not cement any absolute future on this.**

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The next few days were a little hectic. Sakura had to balance running the hospital and helping Gaara. Since he couldn't be sure who to trust, he had little options on who could help him weed out the unloyal statesmen. While he was picking them out, Sakura was busy helping Izumi make preparations, figuring out what to do with people proven unloyal, and sort the massive paperwork that was coming in because of this huge mess.

Also, she somehow got included into the Suna council with all their meetings and such (along with Temari and Kankuro, the former's return to Konoha being delayed because of this event). Apparently, her standing up to Hue and her handling of the situation had impressed them and earned their respect. They asked her opinion, asked her to check their work, had her included in talks and had her working alongside them to fix this problem.

For a while, Sakura forgot that she had announced she and Gaara were having a relationship with all the work to do, but then she started to notice the analyzing looks she was getting from the other members. When Lady Sole kept staring at her, Sakura finally asked her what was wrong. The old woman cracked a smile. "I'm just happy that our Kazekage has finally found someone to share his life with."

Sakura blushed and fumbled with the papers she was holding. "What?"

"I'm sure you and the Kazekage will be together for a very long time," she said.

Sakura just pursed her lips and looked down at the papers in her hands.

Lady Sole cocked her head, watching her with that wise look most elders had. "Do you not like the idea?"

"No, it isn't that!" Sakura said quickly. "It's just…" she was unsure about opening up to this woman, but there was no one else around, and it wasn't going to cause any harm. "It's just we've already had so many things come between us…I can't imagine what is going to get in our way if we become serious. And I don't like thinking about the future too much."

The old woman chuckled. "You better get used to it, sweetie, because a lot of things are changing. And you're going to be very involved in most of it."

Sakura wasn't sure if she liked the idea.

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"I've missed you," Sakura murmured as she hugged Gaara's shoulders, maneuvering around his chair. Gaara rubbed her hand and turned his attention away from his paperwork.

"I would hope so," he said quietly. "Considering we haven't gotten to talk in four days with all this chaos going on."

"Are things getting any better?"

Gaara sighed. "Many of the men who Hue claimed were helping him say he—or some of his followers—was threatening them to get their support. Their claims seem legit, so hopefully I won't have to completely scrap our government staff."

"Was it really that bad?" Sakura asked, releasing him and moving to sit on the desk in front of him.

"Statistically, no. I still had—have?—the majority of the members loyalty. But Hue targeted the more powerful members. If this had gone on for longer and gotten out of hand, we could have had a civil war going on over power."

Sakura shivered. Power was a scary thing. So was greed. "I'm just glad the worse if over with."

Gaara's eyes shadowed. "Now all I have to do is keep word of this from getting out so other villages don't know, find out what exactly was going on, who were the ones that truly supported Hue, and what to do with them. Like that isn't going to be hard."

Sakura frowned at Gaara. The circles around his eyes were even more pronounced than usual, and if she guessed right, he probably had been sleeping worse than she did—which was still pretty bad. Actually, he probably wasn't sleeping at all. Concerned for his health, and his attentiveness to his job, Sakura said, "Gaara, you don't look so good. Why don't you rest? I could get Izumi to do this for you, or I could take a stab at it."

Gaara shook his head tiredly. "No, it's alright. I need to get this done."

"Gaara," she huffed. Placing her hands on either side of his head, she made him look at her. "When was the last time you slept?"

He scowled, unable to lie to her. "Since the last night we spent together."

"Gaara!" Sakura cried. "That was eight days ago. Get some sleep, right now!"

"Sakura, I don't need that much sleep. "I can handle it."

She glared at him. "Don't make me humiliate you by carrying you home and forcing you to go to sleep."

Gaara narrowed his eyes. He quickly realized that she did have the strength to technically do that. "You wouldn't dare."

Sakura rose an eyebrow. "You're risking doing a bad job from sleep deprivation. I'm a doctor, I know what I'm talking about. And yes, I would, if that's what it took for you to get some rest."

Gaara figured that a test of wills wouldn't end well for him right now. Being thrown over the shoulder of a woman and paraded around the streets wasn't quite something the Kazekage wanted to be seen doing. "Fine, you win," he admitted. Sakura smiled and they stood at the same time, bringing them close together.

Quickly the light friction evaporated, and all either of them could think about was how long it had been since they'd been alone together. Feeling uncomfortable, Sakura moved to the side to give Gaara room—room he didn't want.

He moved closer and rubbed her cheek with his hand, making her look at her. "You know, you're not looking to chipper yourself."

"I haven't been sleeping well lately, with all this work to do."

"Hypocrite," he accused. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"I'm going up to bed right now," she told him.

Gaara shook his head. "Sleep with me tonight." Sakura didn't answer, unsure, and Gaara prodded, "Come on, it will help. Both of us." Moving over to the couch, he made her sit down with him and stretched out on the couch. Pulling her to his chest, he resettled, getting comfortable. "There."

Sakura rolled her eyes, though couldn't complain.

Just before Izumi went home, he paused before the Kazekage's office door. The light was still on, he could see. Positive that Gaara would have gone home by now, he opened the door to hit the light switch.

He stopped when he saw the couple sleeping on the office couch, curled up and holding each other. A light smile crossed his face and he watched them for a moment, pleased that his Kazekage had finally found someone. Turning off the light, he carefully closed the door, still smiling.

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It was Christmas Eve, and the hospital was holding a party for the staff and patients who would have to stay over the holiday. Sakura had promised Gaara she'd leave before it ended, but right now she was wound up in talking with the nurses and doctors, laughing and having fun. Kyoko had even shown up, not many days from her due date and firmly settled in a chair. When Sakura expressed her surprise in seeing her, Kyoko just waved her hand and asked, what better place to be when you're expecting that to be surrounded by a hospital staff?

Gaara grumbled as he climbed the stairs in the hospital, heading for the lounge where they would be hosting the party. Sakura was late. She had promised to be at his home by now, and she had forgotten to show up! He had gone through all the trouble of having Temari help him decorate the place and cook a meal, and kick Kankuro out, and she wasn't even going to come.

He followed the sound of laughter and walked through the open door of the lounge, seeing doctors and patients holding presents and looking around. It was time for the secret Santa, and presents were going all around. He managed to weave his way through the crowd when he spotted Sakura, in the corner and talking to Kyoko, just as she received a gift and Kyoko got hers. Urging Kyoko to open hers first, Sakura watched her unwrap a baby blanket and baby suit. Kyoko smiled wryly and muttered, "Original," before announcing her thanks to the room, unsure of who gave this to her. Sakura laughed and opened hers. She rose her eyebrows and held up massage oil, body lotion, and fizzing bubble bath. "Why do I have a feeling this isn't meant to be used all by myself?" she asked, earning a laugh from the room. When she looked up, her smile faltered when she saw Gaara smirking and quickly tried to hide the box from his view. Kyoko laughed and waved Gaara over, asking him what he was doing here.

"Sakura was supposed to be at my home by now," he answered.

"I had to stay for the Secret Santa," she replied sheepishly, stuffing the box under her feet. "I'm ready to leave now, though."

"Wait a minute," Kyoko argued. "You still haven't told me yet."

"Told you what?" Sakura asked.

"When the baby's due," she answered.

Gaara choked. "What?" Gaara demanded. "What baby?"

The two women laughed. "It was a joke," Sakura told him, picking up her gift and standing. She took Gaara's hand, said goodbye to everyone, and steered him from the room, walking out into the brisk night air outside the hospital.

"That wasn't very funny," he grumbled.

"What, scared you?" Sakura asked with a laugh. "Kyoko thought that was hilarious. And besides, I'm surprised you didn't realize it wasn't true."

Gaara just kept grumbling under his breath and Sakura squeezed his hand. Playfully she turned around and asked, "So, what'd you get me?"

"You won't find out until tomorrow," he said back. After a pause, he added, "Unless you tell me what you got for me."

Here Sakura blushed and refused to say more, making Gaara's curiosity peak. A sly smirk on his face, he asked, "Come on, what is it?"

"You won't find out until tomorrow," she told him, turning away.

Gaara eyed her, still smirking. "Uh-huh. We'll see about that."

Sakura rolled her eyes. She thought back to what Lady Sole had told her, that she could see them staying together for a very long time. She wasn't sure if that would prove to be true, but she wouldn't mind getting through their first Christmas together.

If they didn't, all that time she spent on finding that just_ perfect _gift would have gone to waste. She squeezed Gaara's hand again and picked up the pace, eager to get out of the cold night air—and maybe spend the night snuggled up to Gaara.

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**Ack! When I finished this, I realized I **_**still **_**hadn't included the big "I love you" Discussion. (beats self over the head). But maybe it's better this way. I do not plan on making a sequel, and certainly not something as long as this. A few connected oneshots maybe. But I want to try writing about other things.**

**And for my readers, thank you so much for hanging around for so long. This wasn't one of my most exciting fanfictions. Please, you guys who don't usually review, I'd love to hear what you have to say. That goes for all of you! I live for the long review! Thanks for reading.**


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